St. John’s’ Rick Pitino wants Christian Laettner 1992 Final Four revenge vs. Duke

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History will be intently watching on the sideline on Friday as St. John’s battles Duke in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena.

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Red Storm coach Rick Pitino is extra motivated to face the Blue Devils as he has a score to settle.

The 73-year-old Pitino probably still has nightmares from Kentucky’s loss to Duke in the Elite Eight in 1992, with Christian Laettner sinking the game-winner as time expired after a perfect full-court pass from Grant Hill.

Pitino led the Wildcats to the No. 2 seed that year, while the Blue Devils were a top seed and went on to win the national title.

Fast forward to today, Duke is a top seed anew, while Pitino steered St. John’s to a fifth seed. Pitino wants nothing more than to exact revenge on the Blue Devils.

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“You win some, you lose some, and I’m hoping we can get Duke at the buzzer next to make up for that Christian Laettner shot,” said the veteran mentor in a video shared by The Field of 68’s Karter Baughan.

For the past 34 years, Pitino has had to watch Laettner’s iconic shot in video highlights or tournament montages every time March Madness arrives. It is widely considered one of the biggest shots in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

“I was so sick of commercials with Laettner hitting that shot over and over and over,” admitted Pitino, who led Kentucky to the national title in 1996.

Fortunately, he was on the right side of a game-winner on Sunday, as Dylan Darling made a layup as time expired to lift St. John’s past No. 4 Kansas, 67-65, in the second round at Viejas Arena.

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Duke, meanwhile, advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating TCU, 81-58, on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Related: UConn’s Dan Hurley sends a message on looming Sweet 16 battle vs. Tom Izzo

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Publish date : 2026-03-23 06:50:00

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