Duke vs Rick Pitino in the NCAA Tournament?
What could possibly happen?
Big games are often mythologized in a “things were better in my day” sort of way, but yeah, 1992 Duke’s Elite Eight win over a Pitino-coached Kentucky in was the greatest game in college basketball history – from start to finish, and for what that meant, it just was.
Neither side has a Christian Laettner in this one, and Duke isn’t the heel it used to be as a program, but this should take on a life of its own, if only because of what St. John’s is doing.
The Red Storm are a win away from their first Elite Eight since 1999 as they try to make the Final Four for the first time since 1985.
Meanwhile, including that 1992 Man Walks On Moon moment for college basketball, Duke has won four national titles, lost in three national championship games, and been in 23 Sweet 16s.
The winner gets either UConn or Michigan State. Any outcome will make for a blast of an East Regional Final on Sunday.
Duke vs St. John’s Game Preview: Can the Red Storm Thunder Enough Inside?
Duke vs St. John’s How To Watch
Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Time: 7:10 pm ET
TV: CBS
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (1) Duke 34-2, (5) St. John’s 30-6
Football Series History: St. John’s doesn’t play football, so there isn’t any history. Duke is 17-6 all-time over the Red Storm in basketball.
NCAA Tournament So Far
– Duke: 1st Round Siena 71-65, 2nd Round TCU 81-58
– St. John’s: 1st Round UNI 79-53, 2nd Round Kansas 67-65
– CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews
Key Stats
– St. John’s made just 6-of-11 free throws in the second round win over Kansas.
– Duke made 20-of-23 free throws against TCU in the second round. The Horned Frogs made just five of ten.
Why St. John’s Will Win: Keep Bringing the Energy
St. John’s has only lost once since January 3rd, and that was against a UConn that couldn’t miss on a day when Pitino’s team couldn’t buy a basket from anywhere.
It’s playing with confidence, momentum, and it’s looking like a team that flipped the switch to on, starting with the Big East Tournament title run.
On the other side, Duke doesn’t exactly look worn out, but it’s not a deep team.
It had to work to close out Siena, and it took a big late spurt to make the win over TCU look as ugly as the 81-58 final score. There weren’t a ton of things happening in transition.
St. John’s wants to run, and run some more. It ran when it pulled off the late win over Kansas, it ran throughout this great streak of games, and it should be able to bring the speed and frenetic pace.
Why Duke Will Win: St. John’s Doesn’t Shoot Well
There’s a basic stylistic flaw in this for the Red Storm, and it showed up against Kansas.
The Jayhawks had a fantastic defense, and it showed. St. John’s had an awful day from the floor, worse on the free throw line, and made 31% of its threes.
The bigger deal for this was the way Kansas kept the tempo in its control late. It set up, made shots, and got back on defense.
Duke wants to do that. It has a better defense than Kansas, is more than fine at getting physical, and it has the ability to keep St. John’s from hitting half of its shots.
The Red Storm are 15-0 when hitting 50%, and 22-1 when shooting 45% or better.
Duke allows teams to make an average of 39% of their shots, and St. John’s is 5-4 when it can’t get past the mark.
Duke vs St. John’s Prediction, Betting Lines
Kansas tried to keep St. John’s from getting on the move, but turnovers led to points.
Normally careful with the ball, the Jayhawks turned it over 16 times and still almost won. Duke won’t turn it over that much.
The Red Storm will attack the glass for more second chance points than the Blue Devils would like, but once again, it’ll be a grind of a game for a while for the overall No. 1 seed, but they’ll crank up the defense in winning time.
The size inside will keep St. John’s from getting the points it’ll need, considering there almost certainly won’t be 35 threes jacked up like there were against Kansas.
It’s been 35 years, and Duke will get Pitino again in another late thriller.
Prediction: Duke 74, St. John’s 70
Consensus Line: Duke -6.5, o/u: 141.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Related: Houston vs Illinois Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
This story was originally published by College Football News on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.