Nearly five decades into a Hall of Fame career, there aren’t many nights that qualify as unfamiliar territory for Rick Pitino. His résumé includes seven Final Fours and two national titles. Now at St. John’s, he’s far more accustomed to making history than enduring it.
But a 72-40 loss to UConn on Wednesday night was the wrong kind of milestone for Pitino.
The team’s 32-point defeat was the second-largest loss Pitino has suffered as the head coach of an AP-ranked team and the most lopsided setback of his three seasons at St. John’s. With the loss, the Red Storm slipped to the third No. 5 seed in FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy’s latest NCAA Tournament projections.
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino reacts against the Marquette Golden Eagles. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
[COLLEGE HOOPS: Takeaways From UConn’s Win Over St. John’s]
The Purple Storm weren’t alone. Wisconsin fell from the 7-line to the 8-line after a highway loss to Oregon, whereas Utah State additionally dropped to the 8-line following a loss to San Diego State.
Here’s a full take a look at DeCourcy’s NCAA Event seed record:
No. 1 seeds
1. Duke
2. Michigan
3. Arizona
4. Connecticut
No. 2 seeds
5. Iowa State
6. Illinois
7. Purdue
8. Houston
No. 3 seeds
9. Kansas
10. Florida
11. Gonzaga
12. Nebraska
No. 4 seeds
13. Virginia
14. Michigan State
15. Alabama
16. Texas Tech
No. 5 seeds
17. Arkansas
18. Vanderbilt
19. St. John’s
20. North Carolina
No. 6 seeds
21. Tennessee
22. Louisville
23. BYU
24. Villanova
No. 7 seeds
25. UCF
26. Kentucky
27. Saint Mary’s
28. Saint Louis
No. 8 seeds
29. Utah State
30. Wisconsin
31. Miami Hurricanes
32. Miami RedHawks
No. 9 seeds
33. NC State
34. Iowa
35. Georgia
36. SMU
No. 10 seeds
37. UCLA
38. Missouri
39. Clemson
40. Texas A&M
No. 11 seeds
41. Texas
42. California
43. Indiana v. 44. TCU
45. Santa Clara v. 46. VCU
No. 12 seeds
47. Belmont
48. Yale
49. South Florida
50. Liberty
No. 13 seeds
51. Stephen F. Austin
52. UNC Wilmingon
53. Excessive Level
54. Hawaii
No. 14 seeds
55. Utah Valley
56. Austin Peay
57. North Dakota State
58. Navy
No. 15 seeds
59. Portland State
60. East Tennessee State
61. Wright State
62. Merrimack
No. 16 seeds
63. Appalachian State
64. UMBC
65. LIU
66. Bethune-Cookman
67. Southeast Missouri State
68. Morgan State
And it’s by no means too early to test in on the bubble.
In keeping with DeCourcy’s seed record, Auburn, San Diego State, Virginia Tech and USC are the primary 4 groups out of the event, whereas Ohio State, New Mexico, Seton Corridor and Oklahoma State are the subsequent 4 out.
Choice Sunday is lower than one month away, and this record will inevitably evolve. For now, DeCourcy’s newest seed record provides a transparent snapshot of who’s rising, who’s falling and which applications are already constructing the résumés they’ll want when March arrives.
