Pitino calls out NCAA press conference order after St John’s Sweet 16 exit
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
St. St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino had some advice for the NCAA following the Red Storm’s heartbreaking defeat to Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday night: Let the losers go first.
Pitino opened the press conference with an order after saying his team was “hangry” for more than half an hour following a narrow loss to Duke.
St. St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino talks to his team during the second half against Duke during a Sweet 16 game of the NCAA college basketball tournament on March 27, 2026, in Washington. (Abbie Parr/AP)
“One suggestion for the NCAA is that when you do on-field interviews for Duke, for the winning team… the losing team gets to go first because you let us down in the locker room while the other team was rightfully celebrating.”
CLICK HERE TO GET MORE SPORTS NEWS ON FOXNEWS.COM
He continued, “You should let the losing team go first and let the winning team have as much time as they want. Just a suggestion.”
Waiting on the sidelines St. It added to a tough night for St. John’s.
Duke rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat No. 5 seed St. Louis. The 80-75 victory knocked St. John’s out of the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight, where the Blue Devils will face UConn.
St. St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half of a game against Kansas in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament on March 22, 2026 in San Diego. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
FORMER UNC BASKETBALL STAR KENNY SMITH REACTS TO HUBERT DAVIS FIRING, CLOSES HIS COACHING JOB
“Our defense is broken,” Pitino said at the press conference. . “The problem wasn’t not being in the right place. We were just bullied. They do that to a lot of teams. That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the country. We couldn’t defend their impulse to bully.”
Caleb Foster also returned from his broken foot with 11 points in the second half, while Isaiah Evans scored 25 points and Cameron Boozer played with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Duke guard Caleb Foster plays against St. Louis in the second half of the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Washington on March 27, 2026. He passes St. John’s guard Dylan Darling. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Duke went 3-2 against UConn in the NCAA Tournament but has lost the last two, including the 1999 championship game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports streaming on Xand subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
