Rick Pitino Had a Macabre Reaction to St. John's Free Throw Struggles vs. Marquette

The Johnnies held on to a win Tuesday despite difficulties at the free-throw line.

St. John's Red Storm head coach Pitino applauds during the lineup introductions against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The free-throw line was Rick Pitino's main enemy as his No. 12-ranked St. John's Red Storm held on to a win over the No. 11-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles Tuesday night. St. John's got to the stripe nearly twice as much as their opponent, but didn't make the most of those opportunities.

Although it was a rough shooting night for Pitino's team, he was able to let out a sigh of relief as St. John's held on to a 70-64 win despite a 17-for-31 performance on free throws. They shot just 3-of-16 on three-pointers, too. Legendary Fox Sports commentator Bill Raftery asked Pitino how he's able to control his emotions when the foul shots aren't going down, to which Pitino had a ghastly response.

"Inside, I want to kill myself, outside I just say 'that's ok we're going to make the next one,'" Pitino said.

Free throws can be killer sometimes 😆

Bill Raftery caught up with @StJohnsBBall's Rick Pitino after the Red Storm's win over Marquette ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nyqj2IcorG

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 5, 2025

Remarkably, he had a similar reaction to a tough loss at the hands of Creighton just last month.

With the win Tuesday, the Johnnies advanced to 20-3 on the season, sitting atop the Big East. They travel to play Dan Hurley's UConn team next, where the two head coaches are sure to see their heart rates rise.

---