New York City, NY. – The lights of college basketball normally shine the brightest across the court of Madison Square Garden, but tonight, there was an additional flare.
The Garden- an arena widely considered as the greatest venue in global athletics, and home to the St. John’s Red Storm- hosted a new spectacle tonight: a duel between father and son on the world’s biggest stage. This episode of Family Feud wasn’t hosted by Steve Harvey, rather it was a Big East matchup between the Red Storm of St. John’s, led by legendary Head Coach Rick Pitino, and the Xavier Musketeers, commanded by another Coach Pitino: Richard, Rick’s son.
Tonight marked the second matchup between the father and son coaching contest, with Rick’s Red Storm acting as road warriors while defeating the Musketeers on their home court of the Cintas Center (Jan 24, 88-83).
St. John’s was spearheaded by their dynamic front court of F Zuby Ejifor and F Bryce Hopkins. No matter what Xavier schemed defensively, Ejifor would eat away in the paint, recording 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists on 72% true shooting, while being supplemented by an equally impressive 19-point, 9 rebound night from Hopkins.
Throughout the night, St. John’s was able to spark numerous scoring runs thanks to timely shots from G Dylan Darling- who provided a 16-point performance coming off the bench.
As for the Musketeers, Xavier was led by a 21 point, 8 rebound, 4 assists showing from F Tre Carroll. Carroll, a Florida Atlantic Grad Transfer, continues to solidify himself as one of the Big East’s best during his 2025-26 breakout campaign.
In a game that was determined by a cerebral coaching chess match between father and son, one aspect of the game ultimately allowed the Johnnies to pull out the overtime win: free throws.
St. John’s aggressive offensive playstyle helped bait fouls, earning 41 total trips to the stripe this evening. The Johnnies’ aggressiveness kept Xavier on their toes, as the Musket-men faced early foul trouble, inevitably leading to multiple overtime foul outs. Xavier would record just 17 free throw attempts on the night, as a clear-cut example of their inability to match the aggression of the Red Storm.
Tonight’s victory over the Xavier Musketeers marks Rick Pitino’s 904th Collegiate Coaching Victory, elevating himself to 3rd All Time. This win also marked the 3rd 10 game win streak of the two-year Rick Pitino era of St. John’s basketball. Another notable milestone on the evening came after Xavier’s Tre Carroll scored his 1,000th career point.
Following the game, Coach Rick Pitino was quick to ignore any personal successes in his milestone victory, instead giving the glory to his son:
“I’m really excited for the victory, but I’m more proud of my son, because in two games against them, he totally out coached me, and his staff out coached us…We could not stop them and their offense…at the end- all credit goes to Richard, his staff and his players, they’ve outplayed us twice, but we just gutted it out in the final minutes to come away with the victory, which good teams do.”
Coach Rick Pitino would follow up with comments on the versatility of Xavier’s Carroll, and the matchup nightmare he’s caused since Richard got his hands on him this off-season:
“Their Power Forward, Aquaman (Carroll) would come off the screen and take the guard play on pick and roll…..He causes massive problems, he’s like Dylan Mitchell with a jump shot plus 30 pounds, and he creates switches.. He’s got a great soft touch… doesn’t miss those 10-12 foot shots.”
The St. John’s Red Storm now improves to 19-5 on the season, solidifying themselves as the top team in the Big East. The Johnnies now have a much needed few days off, before preparing to travel to Providence this upcoming Saturday (Feb 14). As for Xavier, the Musketeers now fall to 12-12, where they’ll begin preparation for Saturday’s home matchup vs Marquette.
