Rick Pitino states St. John's will not participate in postgame handshakes due to 'multiple problems' in other games

Rick Pitino is going to do things differently as far as the usual postgame manners in college basketball.

Pitino tweeted on Thursday morning that, due to issues that have happened with St. John’s, his team will not take part in the handshake line following their games.

“I certainly have great respect for the coaches and teams we play but after witnessing multiple problems with the postgame handshake line, we will take a page out of the NBA playbook and refrain,” Pitino wrote.

The handshake line has been an accepted practice for basketball at the collegiate level. It doesn’t often lead to confrontations following the game but, according to Pitino, that hasn’t been the case for the Red Storm.

This comes a few days after St. John’s opened conference play in the Big East with one of their larger margins of victory of the year so far. The Red Storm won 89-61 over DePaul inside Carnesecca Arena in Queens. RJ Luis Jr., Kadary Richmond, Simeon Wilcher, and Zuby Ejiofor all went for double figures at 61.9% shooting with Luis Jr., Richmond, and Wilcher each scoring 16-plus.

Pitino doesn’t want to disregard any of their opponents following the games to come in any of their final 20 games, especially since all but one will be league games. Still, for now, St. John’s plans to not take part in the postgame handshake moving forward.

Bracketology: ESPN releases new projections for NCAA Tournament with massive changes

After six weeks in college basketball, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released another update to Bracketology.

Here’s how the bracket now looks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament per the latest from him earlier this week:

ESPN Bracketology: On the Bubble

Last Four Byes: West Virginia, Penn State, Arizona State, Saint Mary’s
Last Four In: Creighton, Texas, Missouri, Ohio State
First Four Out: Nebraska, BYU, UC Irvine, Indiana
Next Four Out: SMU, Vanderbilt, LSU, Iowa

South Region – Atlanta

1. Auburn vs. 16. Lamar/Little Rock
8. Wisconsin vs. 9. North Carolina
5. Memphis vs. 12. Arizona State/Ohio State
4. Houston vs. 13. Arkansas State

6. Michigan vs. 11. Creighton/Missouri
3. Florida vs. 14. Princeton
7. Pittsburgh vs. 10. Saint Mary’s
2. Marquette vs. 15. UMass Lowell

Midwest Region – Indianapolis

1. Tennessee vs. 16. Southern
8. Cincinnati vs. 9. San Diego State
5. Mississippi State vs. 12. UC San Diego
4. Purdue vs. 13. Kent State

6. Illinois vs. 11. Providence
3. Texas A&M vs. 14. High Point
7. Dayton vs. 10. Penn State
2. Duke vs. 15. Norfolk State

East Region – Newark

1. Iowa State vs. 16. Merrimack
8. Georgia vs. 9. Utah State
5. Michigan State vs. 12. Liberty
4. UConn vs. 13. Furman

6. Clemson vs. 11. Texas
3. Oregon vs. 14. Milwaukee
7. St. John’s vs. 10. West Virginia
2. Alabama vs. 15. Central Connecticut

West Region – San Francisco

1. Kentucky vs. 16. American/Hampton
8. Maryland vs. 9. Arkansas
5. Baylor vs. 12. Grand Canyon
4. UCLA vs. 13. Lipscomb

6. Ole Miss vs. 11. Drake
3. Kansas vs. 14. South Dakota State
7. Oklahoma vs. 10. Texas Tech
2. Gonzaga vs. 15. Montana State