Pitino questioning himself after St. John’s 32-point loss to UConn

Feb. 26 (UPI) — Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino took the blame and said he is questioning himself after St. John’s suffered a 32-point blowout loss to UConn.

The Red Storm shot just 19.6% (11 of 56) in the 72-40 setback, their largest under Pitino, on Wednesday in Hartford, Conn. They made just 2 of 28 shots (7.1%) in the second half. The Red Storm missed 24 consecutive attempts over the final 17:28.

The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the No. 15 Red Storm (22-6). The No. 6 Huskies (26-3), who lost to St. John’s earlier this month, have now won four of their last five contests.

“I don’t know what it is,” Pitino told reporters. “All I know is we didn’t play good offense. We did things that we’ve never done.

“And again, it’s something that I’ve got to question about myself, and I will question it because the team did not do the things we’ve done in the last 13 games.”

None of the 10 participating Red Storm players eclipsed the 10 points scored by sophomore guard Joson Sanon, who went 3 of 10 from the field. His teammates made just eight of their 46 attempts (17.3%).

Junior center Tarris Reed Jr. totaled 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies. Redshirt senior forward Alex Karaban and junior guard Solo Ball chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Huskies made 47.5% of their shot attempts. They outscored the Red Storm 42-12 in the paint and 14-0 off fast breaks.

Graduate student Bryce Hopkins made a layup to give the Red Storm a 2-0 lead 58 seconds into the contest. The Red Storm held that advantage for 18 seconds and never led again.

“It’s all on me,” Pitino said. “I’m very disappointed in our performance, offensively especially, sharing the ball, moving the ball. So it’s all on me.”

The Red Storm will take on the Villanova Wildcats (22-6) at 8 p.m. EST Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Huskies will host the Seton Hall Pirates (19-9) at noon Saturday in Storrs, Conn.

“We’re still playing for a league championship,” Pitino said. “It doesn’t matter if you lose by one or 40. The league championship is still at stake. Obviously, we’ve got to make our corrections and move on.”