St. John’s is back on top of the Big East.
The Red Storm defeated the Creighton Bluejays 82-66 on Saturday to win their first Big East tournament since the 1999-2000 season and fourth overall.
The tournament victory follows St. John’s first regular-season conference title since 1992, when it shared the honor with Georgetown and Seton Hall.
It’s been a season of resurgence for the Red Storm. Their 30 wins are one shy of a program record. Their four losses this season have come by a combined seven points, the fewest in Division I this season and second-fewest by any team in the past 10 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
Here’s what was going on in the world the last time St. John’s won the Big East tournament — March 11, 2000.
‘The Godfather’ on a different sideline
In his second season as St. John’s head coach, Rick Pitino is at the forefront of the program’s turnaround. But in 2000, he was attempting to propel the NBA’s Boston Celtics back to the sport’s pinnacle.
The Celtics hired Pitino before the 1997-98 season. He never finished with a record above .500 and resigned as head coach and president of the franchise in January 2001. However, Pitino and Boston were coming off a blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls when St. John’s won.
Rick Pitino spent 3½ seasons as head coach of the Boston Celtics. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
The end of a March Madness era
With a Big East tournament title under their belt, the Red Storm entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed. It was their highest ranking since the 1986 tournament when they were No. 1.
St. John’s lost in the second round against No. 10 seed Gonzaga in what was the final NCAA tournament with a 64-team bracket. It moved to 65 teams the next year, then 68 programs in 2011 with the introduction of the First Four.
Michigan State won the national championship in 2000.
Pair of Duke stars together in NBA
Grant Hill and Christian Laettner won back-to-back national titles as members of the 1990s Duke Blue Devils. As St. John’s captured conference gold, the two were again playing alongside each other — this time, in the NBA.
Laettner went to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 3 in 1992, and two years later, the Detroit Pistons drafted Hill with the third overall pick. In 1998, Laettner joined Hill on the Pistons.
The former Blue Devils combined for 45 points in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers the day of the Big East championship game.
Christian Laettner and Grant Hill spent two seasons as teammates in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons. Photo by Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Country tops the ‘Billboard Hot 100’
Lonestar’s “Amazed” regained its position at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of March 11. It spent 55 weeks on the chart, two of which were at the top. The track was also nominated at the 42nd Grammy Awards for “Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.”
Other songs on the charts included “Maria Maria” by Santana featuring The Product G&B at No. 2, Faith Hill’s “Breathe” at No. 3, “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC at No. 6 and “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” by the Backstreet Boys at No. 7.
Rams coming off first Super Bowl win
One of the more memorable Super Bowl endings took place in Super Bowl XXXIV.
The then-St. Louis Rams faced the Tennessee Titans in Atlanta. With six seconds left, facing a 23-16 deficit, Titans quarterback Steve McNair connected with wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Rams’ Mike Jones. Dyson famously stretched his arm to cross the football past the goal line, but fell short, cementing a Rams victory.
