As St. John’s gears up for a marquee matchup against Kentucky this Saturday in Atlanta, head coach Rick Pitino isn’t sugarcoating the challenge ahead. Coming off a 79-66 win over DePaul, Pitino offered a candid assessment of the Wildcats - a team he knows well, both from the sidelines and his own coaching legacy.
“Kentucky is very big. They’re plus-10 on the glass.
They rebound the ball great. They’re terrific on defense,” Pitino said.
“It’ll be a hell of a game, it’ll be a tough game. We know that.”
The game, set in Atlanta, is expected to have a heavy Kentucky fan presence - enough that Pitino referred to the city by its familiar nickname among Wildcats faithful: “Catlanta.” With a projected crowd of six to seven thousand Kentucky fans, Pitino acknowledged that it’ll feel like a road game for St.
John’s, even on a neutral site. But he’s not rattled.
“We’re playing good defense right now,” Pitino added. “I think it’ll be a good basketball game.”
He’s not wrong about the defense. St.
John’s has quietly built one of the more reliable defensive units in the country. Against DePaul, they held the Blue Demons to just 39% shooting from the field and 7-of-25 from beyond the arc.
That marked the third straight game in which the Red Storm held their opponent under 67 points - a trend that’s becoming more of a trademark than a fluke.
Kentucky, meanwhile, is coming off what may have been its most complete defensive performance of the season. The Wildcats limited Indiana to just 60 points in a 12-point win, holding the Hoosiers to 34% shooting and a dismal 4-for-24 from three. Add in 18 Indiana turnovers, and it’s clear Kentucky is starting to click on that side of the ball.
Both teams currently sit neck and neck in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings - St. John’s at 15th, Kentucky at 16th - a stat that paints this matchup as a potential defensive slugfest.
But beyond the X’s and O’s, there’s a deeper storyline at play: the reunion between Pitino and Kentucky head coach Mark Pope. The two share a bond that goes back to the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team, where Pope played under Pitino. Now, nearly three decades later, they’ll face off from opposite benches - with mutual respect running deep.
On his weekly radio show, Pope didn’t hold back in his praise for Pitino’s squad.
“They’re incredibly big and physical and skilled,” Pope said of St. John’s.
“They guard and press and are one of the top defensive teams in the country. They might be a little more potent shooting the ball this year.
So we’re playing against a great team. That’s the most exciting thing.”
And facing Pitino? That’s personal.
“Getting to do it against Coach is awesome. I love him, and I’m excited about the contest,” Pope said.
When asked to reflect on his time playing under Pitino, Pope shared a glimpse into the demanding - but formative - environment that shaped him.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but every day seemed like it was two years - mostly because we stuffed like 17 practices in every day,” Pope joked. “We had so many special experiences as a team...
I credit Coach with so much of that, being able to really forge a team out of a bunch of individuals. He’s got a magical capacity to do that and taught us a ton of lessons.”
So when the ball tips Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, it won’t just be a battle between two ranked defenses or two rising programs. It’ll be a chess match between a coach and his former player - both of whom understand exactly what’s at stake, and exactly how to prepare for it.
And if recent performances are any indication, fans should buckle in for a game that’s as physical and tactical as it is personal.