For as satisfying as St. John’s resurrection has felt, the ending verse was about as empty as imaginable. Of all the ways to go out. An impossibly bad offensive performance. An inability to get the final defensive stops. A second-round NCAA Tournament loss to an Arkansas team that barely made the field.
Not only that but a decision that will follow Rick Pitino and St. John’s for a long time. Probably for however long it takes to get back here and advance.
Four minutes and 56 seconds. That’s how long the 2025 Big East Player of the Year sat as St. John’s tried to steal a spot in the Sweet 16. Pitino pulled star wing RJ Luis out of the lineup after making two free throws to cut Arkansas’ lead to two points with less than five minutes to play. Luis, who finished his junior season as the first St. John’s player to average more than 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in nearly 30 years, was replaced by Rubén Prey, a freshman from Portugal averaging 7.6 minutes per game.
There Luis sat. Only the third player in program history to be named the conference’s player of the year, he was the Johnnies’ leading scorer in 17 of 34 games before Saturday. He sat and watched the season end.
Read more about St. John’s nightmare season-ending loss below.
How St. John’s magical season came crashing down vs. Arkansas in NCAA Tournament
