Rick Pitino Earns 900th Career Victory; St. John’s Storms Back to Down Xavier, 88-83

Saturday, January 24

Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center)

1:30 p.m.

St. John's University

15-5,8-1Big East

Xavier

11-9,3-6Big East

St. John's (NY)

Xavier

Rick Pitino Earns 900th Career Victory; St. John’s Storms Back to Down Xavier, 88-83

1/24/2026 4:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Pitino becomes the fourth coach in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball history to record 900 career victories

CINCINNATI- Rick Pitino captured his 900^th career victory on Saturday in dramatic fashion against Xavier, 88-83, at Cintas Center in Cincinnati.

Four days after mounting a 15-point comeback victory over Seton Hall, the Red Storm (15-5, 8-1 BIG EAST) erased a 16-point second half deficit to capture its sixth-straight victory and move to 8-1 in conference play. The Johnnies outscored Xavier 49-28 over the final 16:40 of game action.

Pitino becomes the fourth coach to reach the elusive 900-win threshold all at the NCAA Division I level, joining Mike Krzyzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,116) and Roy Williams (903). The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer adds to his lengthy list of accolades in his 38 years of collegiate coaching. Pitino won two National Championships, made seven Final Fours, led six different schools to the Big Dance and now has 900 wins under his belt.

Bryce Hopkins notched his sixth consecutive double-digit scoring outing tallying a team-high 18 points, including 14 in the latter stanza.

Dillon Mitchell continued his recent dominance making an impact all over the floor. The senior finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and tied a career-high six assists. The Tampa Bay native shot 7-for-8 (87.5%) from the floor in the winning effort. Zuby Ejiofor logged a double-double adding 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Ian Jackson got going early cashing in on his first five field goal attempts and first three from downtown. The sophomore finished with 16 points all in the first 14 minutes of the contest.

Xavier's Tre Carroll totaled 29 or more points for the third consecutive game finishing with a game-high 31 in the Queen City.

In the early going, the Red Storm shot 8-for-10 from the floor to start the contest. Jackson knocked down three triples to build a 20-11 lead at the 13:15 mark of the first half. The pace picked up as the Musketeers responded with a 25-7 scoring run to carry a 36-27 lead into the under-8 media timeout. Xavier expanded its advantage to as many as 14 in the opening stanza and carried a 49-37 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Musketeers enlarged their advantage to 16 on two separate occasions. Xavier held a 16-point lead, 55-39, with 16:45 remaining before the Red Storm rattled off a 16-1 scoring spurt to climb within one, 56-55, with 12:56 remaining. Ejiofor and Mitchell spearheaded the effort scoring the final 14 points of the dominant run.

Later in the final frame, Mitchell tied it, 67-67, with a jump hook. On the ensuing possession, Hopkins finished an old-fashioned three-point play to give St. John's its first lead since the 11:07 mark in the first half, 69-67, with 7:11 on the clock.

In the final minutes after the Red Storm expanded it edge to five, 79-74, the Musketeers responded with five-straight points to tie the scoreline with 1:38 remaining. Trailing by one, Darling knocked down the go-ahead step back 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining. After a defensive stop,Ruben Prey finished a putback to seal the comeback effort and springboard Coach Pitino to another milestone.

St. John's will return to the hardwood on Wednesday when it welcomes Butler to Madison Square Garden for a 7 p.m. tip-off.