St. John’s Coach Rick Pitino reached into his motivational playbook Tuesday night in Washington, with his team up 26 and already with enough points to win what became a 66-41 rout of Georgetown. “I told them at halftime I’ve only had one team in my life that had a big lead like that that just went for blood,

With Tuesday’s 66-41 win at Georgetown, the Johnnies improved to 7-0 since the calendar flipped to 2025. They completed their first undefeated January since 1985, a year in which the late Lou Carnesecca led St. John’s to the Final Four.

St. John’s is 7-0 in 2025, making this the program’s first unbeaten January in 40 years dating to its last Final Four season in 1985.

Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about leaving Kentucky -- and returning. And now with John Calipari set to return to Rupp Arena with Arkansas on Saturday night (9 p.m., ESPN), the St. John’s coach has some advice on how Big Blue Nation should treat their former coach.

Rick Pitino asked Kentucky fans to show love to former head coach John Calipari when he leads Arkansas into Rupp Arena on Saturday.

FAYETTEVILLE — St. John's basketball coach Rick Pitino, who led Kentucky to a national championship at Kentucky in 1996, posted a video to social media Thursday morning with a plea to Big Blue Nation. Pitino asked Kentucky fans to give Arkansas coach John Calipari a standing ovation Saturday when he returns to the place he coached for 15 years.