Auburn's Pearl and St. John's' Pitino share AP coach of the year honors, 1st tie in history of award
Auburn's Pearl and St. John's' Pitino share AP coach of the year honors, 1st tie in history of award
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino yells during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Butler in the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference tournament, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with a net after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls out to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Marquette in the semifinals of the Big East tournament Friday, March 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Auburn' Chad Baker-Mazara embraces head coach Bruce Pearl after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino speaks during a news interview before the Big East basketball tournament Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl rides to practice during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls to his players during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with the team after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls to his players during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with the team after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino sits court side during a game between Michigan State and New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl answers a question during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - This combo of filer photos show from left, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, left, and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, the The Associated Press coaches of the year in men's college basketball. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - This combo of filer photos show from left, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, left, and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, the The Associated Press coaches of the year in men's college basketball. (AP Photo/File)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino yells during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Butler in the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference tournament, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with a net after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls out to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Marquette in the semifinals of the Big East tournament Friday, March 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Auburn' Chad Baker-Mazara embraces head coach Bruce Pearl after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino speaks during a news interview before the Big East basketball tournament Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl rides to practice during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls to his players during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with the team after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino calls to his players during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates with the team after the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Michigan State, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino sits court side during a game between Michigan State and New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl answers a question during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - This combo of filer photos show from left, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, left, and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, the The Associated Press coaches of the year in men's college basketball. (AP Photo/File)
Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a basketball school and may have his best team yet. Rick Pitino has done what he does best at St. John's, ushering in a quick turnaround.
Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press men's college basketball coach of the year award.
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Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting released Friday from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville's Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke's Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drake's Ben McCollum and UC San Diego's Eric Olen each got one vote.
Pitino is the first St. John's coach to be named AP coach of the year and the sixth in Big East Conference history. Marquette's Shaka Smart won the award two years ago.
When Pitino was hired in 2023, the Red Storm had been mired in mediocrity. St. John's hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the late 1990s.
Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his first season and back into into national prominence this year. St. John's won the Big East regular-season title by going 18-2 and took its first Big East Conference Tournament title since 2000.
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The Red Storm matched a school record with 31 wins — marks set in the 1980s under Lou Carnesecca — and had their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in in 34 years by reaching No. 5 in the final regular-season poll. St. John's was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened with a win over Omaha before losing to Arkansas in the second round.
Pitino's quick success follows a pattern he set in previous stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the first coach to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
'I have been blessed for a long period of time — fifty-plus years of coaching,' Pitino said. 'It's going to stop, so why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences.'
Pearl has certainly been doing that since taking over at Auburn in 2015.
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The Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and Pearl got them back into the bracket by his fourth season. Auburn took a huge leap the following year, earning the program's first trip to the Final Four in 2019.
The Tigers have been close to unstoppable this season.
Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and bulled their way through the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to reach the Final Four for the second time.
Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn coaches to win AP coach of the year honors. He is first SEC coach to win the award since Kentucky's John Calipari 10 years ago.
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"You want to be on a great team, you've got to make sacrifices," Pearl said. 'You've got to share and you've got to hold each other accountable. I think that's a big part of what this locker room is all about. This is a team of faith.'
With a national coach of the year — just like St. John's.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
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