A late push down the stretch from St. John’s was not enough to punch their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the committee snubbed them on Sunday evening.
The Queens school was invited to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), but declined.
“First and foremost, we have great respect for the National Invitation Tournament and St. John’s storied history in the event,” said Pitino. “After thorough consideration of all that goes into postseason participation, we believe at this time it is best for our team and basketball program to prepare for next season. We remain focused on building a championship-level basketball program here at St. John’s. I would like to thank all our fans for their wonderful support this past season and look forward to the bright future ahead for St. John’s Basketball.”
The Red Storm ultimately could not claw out of a difficult stretch in late January into February, which was headlined by the squandering of a 19-point lead in a loss to Seton Hall, which was their eighth in 10 games to fall to 14-12 on the season.
Following a postgame tirade by head coach Rick Pitino, the Johnnies won five straight to end the regular season before defeating Seton Hall 91-72 in the first round of the Big East Tournament which appeared to be enough to get into the Big Dance.
St. John’s fell to UConn 95-90 in a thrilling semifinal, which was the first time since 2000 that the Queens-based school played in that stage of the conference tournament. They finished the season 20-13.
Two local schools did clinch their place in the NCAA Tournament include the Bronx’s Wagner University, which won the Northeast Conference (NEC), and Jersey City’s Saint Peter’s, who as a No. 5 seed won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).