Rick Pitino blunt on what St. John’s must do to beat Duke

When St. John’s takes on Duke in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Washington, DC., Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino faces a conundrum: he needs his team to shoot the three-pointer well to win, while also realizing the truth.

“We’re not a three-point shooting team,” Pitino said on Thursday. “That may be ironic I’m saying it that way. I think we do because we have deficiencies elsewhere. We’re a very poor two-point shooting team, one of the worst in the Big East.”

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The Red Storm rank 223rd in college basketball in three-point percentage, making 33.2 percent. In the second-round victory against Kansas, Pitino’s squad finished 11-of-35 (31 percent) from beyond the arc, while shooting 36 percent from the floor.

And while Pitino still wants his team to heave up the three-pointers, it will be difficult against the Blue Devils. Duke ranks 25th in the nation in three-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 30.5 percent from there.

The Red Storm’s three main threats from deep all come off the bench in Joson Sanon (34.3 percent), Lefteris Liotopoulos (32.7) and Ian Jackson (35.3), but they combined to go 3-of-15 against the Jayhawks. Still, Pitino is adamant about his team’s need to hit from three.

“We have to make the three-point shot,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Rick Pitino blunt on what St. John’s must do to beat Duke

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Publish date : 2026-03-26 19:01:00

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