Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley meet for ninth time Saturday as St. John’s and UConn face off in Big East tournament championship. (Photo by Peter K. Afriyie/Associated Press)
One established itself as the king of the court by virtue of its two national championships and unwillingness to cede any ground to hungry challengers. The other transformed its fortunes by maximizing the transfer portal and utilizing the talents of one of the greatest coaches the sport has ever known to rebuild a fallen empire and rekindle the magic of a bygone era.
It is UConn. It is St. John’s. And for the third time this season, with each team winning on its home floor during the regular season, the Big East tournament championship is contested in a ladder match between two high flyers who have put their bodies on the line just to reach this moment.
“I just think both programs have really pushed each other the whole year,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said of the rivalry between his Huskies and Rick Pitino’s Red Storm. “We’re a 29-win team, they’re a 27-win team, two of the best teams in the country. Obviously, it’s going to be a death match for the Big East championship, but both of us have really delivered for this league in a year where this league needs a game like this, that everyone that’s a basketball fan is going to be dialed into. So yeah, it’s exciting.”
At 29-4, UConn has worked as the veteran at the top of the card, each of its four losses coming by nine points or less, solidifying its resume with one of the strongest collections of non-conference wins in the nation. The Huskies have dropped two games since an 81-72 setback at the hands of St. John’s on February 6, on the same Garden floor they take once again on Saturday in pursuit of a coronation, but their presence on this stage should not be discounted, so says their coach.
“We’re not an upstart or an underdog story,” Hurley bluntly declared. “When you’re UConn, there’s a different level of pressure going into these championship moments where it’s like, expected. We don’t get the benefit of being the underdog. We’ve earned a 29-4 position. We’ve been one of the top five college basketball teams the whole year.”
The reigning Big East regular season and tournament champion, St. John’s successfully defended the former title this year with a second consecutive 18-2 conference record. Winners of 18 of its last 19 games, the Red Storm’s lone defeat in that stretch was the anemic 72-40 loss to UConn in Hartford on February 25 that is now safely considered an aberration among one of the most consistent and formidable brands in all of basketball, something its leader heralded for his players’ ability to stay the course and not be consumed by any distractions along the way.
“We’re playing good basketball right now,” Pitino admitted. “I’ve been impressed so many segments of this season, with the way we responded against Connecticut for Villanova, the way we responded against Seton Hall to get that victory with a lot on the line, so we’re proud of our guys. We know we have a road ahead of us that’s going to be very difficult, whoever we play.”
Two prior matches have produced two very disparate outcomes, the most recent of which being a result where St. John’s was held without a field goal for the final 17:28 of regulation and missed each of its last 24 attempts. The third and final act this season comes under the shadow of a trophy, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. And neither coach in charge of his respective teams would want anything different.
“It’s a privilege for these two programs,” Hurley said. “With what they’ve done in college basketball this year and what (Pitino’s) been able to build here, it’s a privilege to get on the court. And, I mean, listen: Somebody’s walking out of the tunnel with nothing, and somebody’s getting confetti dropped on their head.”
Two teams enter. One leaves victorious.
How can you not be romantic about basketball?
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