Rick Pitino was happy his team prevailed, but far from ecstatic.
He didn’t like much about No. 18 St. John’s performance in a tougher-than-expected 72-69 victory over Georgetown Tuesday night at the Garden.
On senior night, the Johnnies lacked energy and were flat for large portions of the win.
They needed a furious rally over the final 14 minutes to avoid what would’ve been a terrible loss.
“I’m disappointed because my guys are having a very difficult time understanding style of play. This team has played Connecticut and Villanova to the wire. They keep it close with tempo,” Pitino said after St. John’s came from 12 down in the second half for its 15th win in 16 games. “And I tried to explain that to them, and they just thought it was another game. So they aren’t mature enough to understand styles, and that was very disappointing as a coach.
“We had to really dig deep, because we didn’t have it, to win.”
Georgetown has now lost seven straight games, although six of those losses have come by seven points or fewer.
“I think we’ll learn a lot from this game,” Pitino said. “It was something that definitely needs to be learned about styles of play. In the NCAA Tournament, as well as our conference [tournament], every night is a different style.”
Before the game, St. John’s honored seniors Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, Oziyah Sellers and Handje Tamba.
“It was an emotional night. It was everything I thought it would be,” Ejiofor said. “I appreciate [the fans]. My family was obviously out there as well. Guys were saying I was going to cry, but there were no tears shed. It was special. It was a night I won’t forget. Obviously, it’s a lot better coming out with the win.”
St. John’s has now beaten Georgetown 11 consecutive times. … Kelvin Odih (right leg soreness) remained out.
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