Rick Pitino can earn his 900th career on-court victory against a familiar face.
The St. John’s coach picked up his 899th win Tuesday night, and could reach 900 on Saturday when the Johnnies visit Xavier and his son, Richard. He tied Bob Knight for fourth place on the all-time list in on-court victories.
“The amazing thing to me, when [St. John’s media relations staffer] Kenny Klein told me about it four games ago. He said, if you keep winning you can have your 900th win against your son,” Pitino recalled after St. John’s 65-60 win over Seton Hall in front of 13,776 at the Garden. “I said, ‘What are the chances of that happening,’ that you coach 50 years and your 900th win is against your son? I think that’s a big treat for me and my family, either way.”
It will mark the first meeting between the two in a conference game. Richard took the Xavier job this past offseason. The Musketeers have played better lately, especially at home, knocking off Providence and Butler.
“This is going to be a lot of fun, a great game,” Pitino said. “If we lose, I’ll leave my team in Cincinnati.”
The two faced each other last season when Richard was coaching New Mexico. St. John’s won that nonconference battle.
Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway singled out Ruben Prey for his contributions in St. John’s come-from-behind win. The reserve forward saw extended minutes due to Zuby Ejiofor’s foul trouble, and produced six points and four rebounds. St. John’s outscored Seton Hall by six points in his 15 minutes.
“I thought he came in and gave them excellent minutes,” Holloway said. “I thought he gave them excellent minutes, he was all over the place.”
St. John’s improved to 7-1 in Big East play for the second consecutive season. The last time that happened was in 1998-99.
