Rick Pitino consoles crying granddaughter as Michigan State beats Richard Pitino, New Mexico
The Pitinos didn’t have the Round of 32 that they’d hoped for in the NCAA Tournament. Because of it, Rick Pitino had to console one of his grandchildren after the second of two losses for their family during March Madness.
Rick Pitino was eliminated from the field on Saturday with No. 2 St. John’s losing 75-66 to No. 10 Arkansas in Providence. Then, in attendance tonight with family in Cleveland, Richard Pitino had his team eliminated as well on Sunday with No. 10 New Mexico losing 71-63 to No. 2 Michigan State. That led to an emotional moment caught on camera with Rick hugging his granddaughter with their entire family now out of the field this postseason.
The Pitinos had carried over the success from their respective regular seasons into the opening round of the tournament. However, neither of their appearances would last past the second round.
St. John’s (31-5) had one of their best seasons in school history in year two under Rick Pitino. The Red Storm, led by one of the nation’s top defenses, won their most games since the mid-1980s while winning the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Big East. Still, despite one of their best records and seeding since the turn of the century, the ‘Hogs ended their season with the nine-point loss as, despite playing well defensively and on the offensive glass, St. John’s couldn’t overcome their poor shooting at just 28% overall and only 9.1% from three.
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New Mexico (27-8) also had one of the best years for their program after improving each season in their third year under Richard Pitino. The Lobos, who were more balanced on both sides of the ball, won the regular season title this year in the Mountain West. They then proved their worth in a first-round upset at 75-66 over No. 7 Marquette. However, after leading throughout the first half tonight, the Spartans came back in the second half.
The Pitinos, especially Rick, hoped that their tournament runs had lasted much longer, especially beyond just the first two rounds. That’s not how it played out for father or son, though, or either of their programs with their individual losses on Saturday and Sunday.