Rick Pitino on St. John's March Madness Loss: Calipari, Arkansas 'Deserve to Move On'

St. John's head coach Rick Pitino said his team was "outplayed" by Arkansas during Saturday's 75-66 upset elimination from the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

"Foul trouble certainly hurt us, but they were the better team. They outplayed us, and they deserve to move on, and we don't," Pitino said Saturday.

"That's what March Madness is all about. Sometimes, no matter how great a regular season you have, you play this way and you're gonna get beat."

The Razorbacks will now move on to the Sweet 16 in John Calipari's first season as head coach.

Referees assessed 44 fouls in 40 minutes of play. Pitino was visibly frustrated with some of the calls, which included fouling out Kadary Richmond in his final college game.

With Richmond and Simeon Wilcher playing a combined 31 minutes due to foul trouble, the Red Storm shot just 28 percent from the field.

The two teams combined to shoot just 4-for-41 from deep, which CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported marks the worst all-around three-point shooting performance in NCAA Tournament history.

The SEC, which waved first-round goodbyes to teams like Texas, Georgia, Missouri, and Mississippi State, will now get to celebrate watching a tenth seed eliminate the Big East champions.

The upset took place in Calipari and Pitino's first head-to-head matchup since 2016. Calipari holds an overall record of 14-10 in 28 career meetings with Pitino's teams.

Calipari is the first head coach to make the Sweet 16 in his debut season with Arkansas. He is also the second coach to qualify for the stage with four different teams.

Pitino has not made it to the 16-team stage since his 2013-14 season with Louisville. After leading St. John's into the NCAA Tournament following a debut 2023-24 season he called "the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime," Pitino will have to wait until next spring to work to complete the Red Storm's turnaround with a deep March Madness run.