PROVIDENCE, R.I. — All it takes is one bad matchup, one bad shooting night, one good shooting night or one buzzer-beater by the underdog.
Rick Pitino assumed nothing ahead of No. 2 seed St. John’s meeting with No. 15 seed Omaha in a West Regional opening-round game Thursday night at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
UMBC was the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed when it shocked Virginia in 2018 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, and FDU was the second and last No. 16 seed to do it against Purdue five years later at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Even the most paranoid coach could sleep a little knowing that No. 16 seeds were 2-154 against No. 1 seeds when the NCAA Tournament tipped off.
Then again, Pitino has endured the pain of one-and-done, and he had enough sense of history to know that no fewer than five of his Hall of Fame coaching brethren had lost as the No. 2 seed to the No. 15 seed.
