St. John’s Red Storm vs Arkansas Razorbacks Picks and Predictions March 22nd 2025

Cal, Pitino in Spotlight Ahead of Arkansas-St. John’s

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Two coaching giants share the spotlight Saturday as No. 2 seed St. John’s Red Storm takes on No. 10 seed Arkansas in a marquee second-round NCAA Tournament matchup. The showdown between Rick Pitino and John Calipari is the kind of March Madness theater fans crave — two legends, two pedigreed programs, and one spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

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Pitino vs. Calipari, With a Twist

It’s the first tournament meeting between the two since 2014 when Pitino was at Louisville and Calipari at Kentucky. Between them, they’ve racked up three national titles and 113 NCAA Tournament wins, while becoming the only coaches to reach the Final Four with three different programs.

Still, Pitino insists the game isn’t about them.

“I don’t go against coaches, we go against teams. He doesn’t have to worry about me. My jump shot is long gone.” — Rick Pitino

St. John’s (31-4) made a statement in Thursday’s 83-53 dismantling of Omaha, the program’s first tournament win since 2000 and its most lopsided in history. The Red Storm went on a 12-2 run to open the second half and never looked back. RJ Luis Jr. led the charge with 22 points and five of the team’s 14 three-pointers.

“Keep on playing, make adjustments and be relentless in the pursuit of excellence defensively — I think we did that.” — Rick Pitino

Now riding a 10-game winning streak, the Big East champions are one of the hottest teams in the country entering Saturday.

Arkansas Embracing Underdog Mentality

Arkansas (21-13) clawed its way into the tournament after an 0-5 start to SEC play and made good on its opportunity by upsetting Kansas 79-72 in the opening round. Jonas Aidoo was the unexpected star, dropping a season-high 22 points.

“We all know we have something to prove. We went through a lot of adversity.” — Jonas Aidoo

Freshman Boogie Fland, a New York native, gave the Razorbacks a spark in his first game action since Jan. 18, finishing with six points, three assists, and three steals in 21 minutes.

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Calipari, now the NCAA’s active wins leader with 58 tournament victories, has relished the chance to lead this gritty group.

“Every one of us, including me, had doubts and we all had to convince ourselves we’re going to do this.” — John Calipari

What’s Next

The winner of this high-stakes showdown will move on to San Francisco to face the winner of No. 11 Drake and No. 3 Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals.