Latest news with #Arkansas-St.John
CNN
03-04-2025
- Sport
- CNN
The best photos from this year's March Madness
Auburn center Johni Broome rises for a layup during the Tigers' Elite Eight win against Michigan State on Sunday, March 30. Broome suffered a scary elbow injury during the second half and had to leave the game, but he returned from the locker room to help the Tigers secure a 70-64 win. Broome, one of the leading candidates for national player of the year, finished with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. cuts down the nets on Saturday, March 29, after the Gators defeated Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four. Florida trailed by nine with just a little more than three minutes left in the game, but Clayton's 3-point heroics helped the Gators mount a furious comeback to win 84-79. He finished with 30 points. Eakin Howard/Imagn Images/Reuters Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg reacts after hitting a 3-pointer against Arizona on Thursday, March 27. The Blue Devils won a 100-93 shootout to move on to the Elite Eight. Flagg, who is likely to be the top pick in the NBA Draft, had a team-high 30 points and seven Arkansas-St. John's game featured a juicy matchup of longtime rival coaches: Arkansas' John Calipari, left, and Rick Pitino. Both men won national championships at Kentucky, and they often faced each other when Calipari coached Kentucky and Pitino coached Louisville. Ben Solomon/Amir Khan, a student manager with 12-seed McNeese State, celebrates with the team after it knocked off 5-seed Clemson in the first round on March 20. Khan, nicknamed 'Aura,' has become famous for being the team's most vociferous hype-man, rapping with the players and holding a boombox as they exit from the tunnel. Ben Solomon/
CNN
02-04-2025
- Sport
- CNN
The best photos from this year's March Madness
Auburn center Johni Broome rises for a layup during the Tigers' Elite Eight win against Michigan State on Sunday, March 30. Broome suffered a scary elbow injury during the second half and had to leave the game, but he returned from the locker room to help the Tigers secure a 70-64 win. Broome, one of the leading candidates for national player of the year, finished with a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. cuts down the nets on Saturday, March 29, after the Gators defeated Texas Tech to advance to the Final Four. Florida trailed by nine with just a little more than three minutes left in the game, but Clayton's 3-point heroics helped the Gators mount a furious comeback to win 84-79. He finished with 30 points. Eakin Howard/Imagn Images/Reuters Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg reacts after hitting a 3-pointer against Arizona on Thursday, March 27. The Blue Devils won a 100-93 shootout to move on to the Elite Eight. Flagg, who is likely to be the top pick in the NBA Draft, had a team-high 30 points and seven Arkansas-St. John's game featured a juicy matchup of longtime rival coaches: Arkansas' John Calipari, left, and Rick Pitino. Both men won national championships at Kentucky, and they often faced each other when Calipari coached Kentucky and Pitino coached Louisville. Ben Solomon/Amir Khan, a student manager with 12-seed McNeese State, celebrates with the team after it knocked off 5-seed Clemson in the first round on March 20. Khan, nicknamed 'Aura,' has become famous for being the team's most vociferous hype-man, rapping with the players and holding a boombox as they exit from the tunnel. Ben Solomon/
USA Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rick Pitino had a 7-word explanation for benching RJ Luis in St. John's loss to Arkansas
Rick Pitino had a 7-word explanation for benching RJ Luis in St. John's loss to Arkansas The only thing more surprising than No. 2 seed St. John's falling to No. 10 seed Arkansas in the NCAA men's tournament Round of 32 on Saturday is who wasn't on the court for the Red Storm during the final, crucial minutes. 12 Photos: Rick Pitino and John Calipari going through all the emotions during Arkansas-St. John's As the Johnnies' season came to an abrupt end in the 75-66 loss, reigning Big East Player of the Year R.J. Luis Jr. was seemingly glued to the Red Storm's bench. After averaging 18.5 points and 7.2 rebounds this season, the junior went ice cold from the floor early against Arkansas and wasn't given a chance to find his game down the stretch. When asked why he sat his best player all year, St. John's head coach Rick Pitino gave a very succinct — and tense — answer: It's true Luis had one of his worst games of the season. He shot 3-for-17 from the field with nine points and seven rebounds. It was only the second time all season Luis scored fewer than 10 points and the first time since late December. Still, the one area where he was helping the Johnnies on Saturday was from the free throw line (3-for-4). With the Red Storm trailing late and attempting to draw fouls, he seemingly could've helped. Instead, Pitino kept him on the bench. Obviously, the coach knows his players better than anyone else, but it's a decision the program will likely second-guess all offseason. For his part, Luis owned up to his performance in the locker room after the loss. Pitino clearly didn't want to speak ill of a star player who everyone watching knew was struggling out there. That's probably for the best, even if it won't stop basketball fans from wondering what Luis could've gone if given another chance.
