The St. John’s Red Storm stormed into the 2026 Big East Tournament as the undisputed regular-season champs.
They held their ground at Madison Square Garden, capping it off with a commanding 72-52 victory over the Connecticut Huskies in the tournament final. Yet, the NCAA selection committee threw a curveball, slotting them as the No. 5 seed in the East region, a bracket that includes the formidable No. 1 overall seed, the Duke Blue Devils.
On Sunday evening, the legendary coach Rick Pitino shared his thoughts with SNY's Niki Lattarulo about St. John's upcoming NCAA Tournament journey, which kicks off against the No.
12 Northern Iowa Panthers in San Diego this Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Pitino, never one to mince words, expressed his surprise at the decision. "Well, we were a little surprised where we're going," he admitted.
"I thought we'd be a five-seed. San Diego is a great city.
I feel bad for our fans. You're not gonna be able to travel in the middle of the week to go to San Diego.
If you get by the first round, lucky enough to get by a tough Northern Iowa team, (No. 4) Kansas will probably have 95 percent of the fans cause they travel, like Kentucky, great."
The Red Storm were ranked No. 15 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, but their 5-5 record in Quad 1 games may have given the committee pause. Despite winning six straight games, a tough 72-40 loss at UConn on Feb. 25 might have lingered in the committee's minds.
Pitino noted, "I don’t think they take into consideration, like the old days, how you’re playing at the end of the year. The metrics are [that] each game counts."
When it came to addressing his players about the perceived slight, Pitino saw it as a teaching moment. "It's a great opportunity," he said.
"I told them, 'Don't take it as a negative.' I've had teams go to a Final Four that first had to go to Portland and then Arizona from Louisville.
If you're a one or a two-seed, you're gonna get lucky, you're gonna be in a region where your fans can get to, but when you're four, five, and six, you may have to travel. And we have to travel."
As of Monday morning, St. John's is favored by 10.5 points over Northern Iowa, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. This sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting tournament run.