Rick Pitino highlights area of growth after beating Marquette
St. John’s got off to a fast start and never let up as they rolled past Marquette, 92-68, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
The Red Storm didn’t stand a chance For the Golden Eagles to come back in the second half, improving to 12-5, including 5-1 in the Big East.
But while they looked impressive in their easy win, coach St Rick Pitino pointed out some areas of improvementespecially with their young players.
“Our press has been good. We need our young players involved in scouting, from Lefty (Liotopoulos) to Ian (Jackson),” Pitino said, as quoted by Rumble In The Garden, which covers St. John’s.
73 years old Pitino is known to set high standards and hit his players hard. He hasn’t changed his approach over the years, and many of his players have benefited from it, including Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell and former NBA guys Montrezl Harrell, Jamal Mashburn and Antoine Walker, among others.
Pitino, meanwhile, too praised his background in their win over Marquette.
“Dylan Darling turned the game around for us with incredible hustle. Oziah (Sellers) was great from start to finish,” added Pitino, who has won two national titles.
Sellers led the way with 24 points, including four 3-pointers, while Zubi Ejiofor added 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds. Bryce Hopkins had 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Golden Eagles held the score at halftime, but the Red Storm went on a 13-0 run after the break to pull away for their back-to-back win.
2026-01-14 05:30:00
