St. John’s tops Xavier as Rick Pitino earns 900th career win against his son, Richard

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Rick Pitino won his 900th career college basketball game on Saturday as St. John’s topped Xavier 88-83.

The Red Storm took a 25-23 lead midway through the first half, but the Musketeers finished the opening 20 minutes on a 26-12 run for a 12-point lead at the break. The second half saw St. John’s climb back as they outscored Xavier 51-34 to improve to 15-5 on the season.

Junior guard Dylan Darling, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, hit a key three-pointer with 53.2 seconds to play.

The milestone victory was extra special for Pitino as it came against his son Richard, who took over the Musketeers’ job in March. 

“I don’t like beating him, obviously, but it’s beating Xavier,” Pitino said to TNT’s Andy Katz afterward. “Richard did a phenomenal job. … From where they were, losing to Santa Clara to now is one of the best coaching jobs I’ve seen in basketball. I can’t love him or be more proud of him.”

Dad now owns a 4-1 lifetime record against son.

Pitino, who joined the Red Storm in 2023 and has Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and Iona among his stops on his collegiate coaching resumé, technically has 777 wins in the eyes of the NCAA after 123 wins and a national title were vacated due to infractions while he was with the Cardinals.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is the all-time men’s coaching wins leader with 1,202.

The 73-year-old Pitino has won two national titles, reached seven Final Fours, was named the John Wooden National Coach of the Year in 1987, and is the reigning AP national co-coach of the year. He helped the Red Storm return to the NCAA tournament and into the second round last year for the first time since 2019.

Saturday’s win gives the Red Storm an 8-1 record in the Big East, one game behind No. 2 UConn, who knocked off Villanova in overtime 75-67.

“Players get coaches wins, but there’s nothing sweet than getting 900 because of these guys,” Pitino said.