Report: Rick Pitino out due to COVID against Seton Hall

Rick Pitino will not coach tonight in St. John’s matchup against Seton Hall, per Jon Rothstein. Associate head coach Steve Masiello will serve as acting head coach.

St. John’s is off to a hot start this season, boasting a 12-5 record. The Red Storm were on a four-game win streak before falling to Creighton 66-65 on Saturday. Pitino wasn’t happy with the loss, and he wasn’t scared to admit it after the game.

“No, I don’t feel good,” Pitino said. “When we lose, I f***ing hate the world. Just so you understand that, no, I don’t feel good. I’ve never felt good with a loss; pardon my language. So, I don’t feel good. I don’t believe in those valiant efforts on the road. No, I feel like I want to kill myself, jump in the cold, and die of frostbite.”

Pitino certainly won’t be feeling any better now. Nonetheless, his time off will give him plenty of time to analyze the painful loss. After all, the box score didn’t make much sense. The Red Storm shot better and out-rebounded Seton Hall despite ending up on the wrong side of the meeting.

The tightly-contest battle came down to the wire. Creighton’s Trey Alexander made the go-ahead free throws with 12.3 seconds left. St. John’s failed to connect on its counter punch. Following the loss, Pitino commented on the referees.

“I don’t yell at officials during the game,” Pitino said. “This is going to sound absolutely berserk: I think it’s a form of cheating when you’re trying to get calls on every play and cursing at the referees, inciting the crowd.

“You’re trying to get calls. I don’t believe in that. I’ve said to referees throughout my tenure maybe 1,000 times: Stop listening to the other coach, you’re getting paid to referee, not to listen to coaches. Most of them adhere to it, the ones that aren’t great don’t adhere to it.”

Pitino can yell as much as he wants tonight from wherever he’s watching. St. John’s is currently ranked third in the Big East, boasting a 4-2 conference record. St. John’s and Seton Hall will square off at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight. The game will be broadcast on FS1.