It’ll be a family affair in cold and snowy Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon as Rick Pitino leads his St. John’s basketball team against Richard Pitino and the Xavier Musketeers with the Hall of Famer on the brink of on-court career victory No. 900.
More than the milestone win, Pitino has the Johnnies rolling as winners of five straight games and in sole possession of second place in the Big East, trailing UConn by one game for the top spot in the league.
However, Xavier hopes to present a strong challenge for the Red Storm and rebound following its heartbreaking one-point loss on the road against Creighton Wednesday night.
“I think he will do everything humanly possible to stop it,” Pitino said about the potential he reaches the mark against his son on Tuesday after St. John’s rallied to beat Seton Hall.
“What are the chances of that happening? That you coach 900 [wins], 50 years, and your 900th [win] is against your son,” he continued. “I think that’s a big treat for me and the family. Either way, we know we’re going to have a difficult game against them because of their style of play.”
Due to the pending winter storm that’s sweeping the country, tipoff time has been moved up by an hour to 1:30 p.m. ET (truTV) due to fan safety and the hope that the Red Storm can get back to New York before the snow hits Cincinnati.
St. John’s offense was stagnant against the stout Seton Hall defense, shooting only 36-percent from the field and 17-percent from 3-point range, but will look to get back on track against a Xavier defense that has not been able to stop many teams this season.
The Musketeers are allowing its opponents to average 76.6 points per game this season while the Johnnies have one of the best offenses in the nation, posting 84.6 points per contest. In three of its last four losses Xavier has surrendered 86 points or more.
In addition to his 900th career win, a victory would also move Rick Pitino ahead of Bob Knight for sole possession of fourth place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list.
“This is going to be a lot of fun, a great game,” Pitino explained. “And if we lose, I’ll leave my team in Cincinnati.”