"Not interested in sharing anything": Rick Pitino drops blunt statement on Big East title race amid historic season

After No. 7 St. John’s secured a share of the Big East conference title with a 76-70 win over Butler on Wednesday night, coach Rick Pitino delivered a strong and clear message.

The 72-year-old just led the Red Storm to their first regular-season title in 33 years, but it is a title they currently share with the Creighton Bluejays, an outcome he is not comfortable with.

“We are not interested in sharing anything. I’ll share other things in my life. I’m not interested in sharing championships,” Pitino told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The coach added that although he loved Creighton, he will never be on board with the idea of sharing the title with them.

St. John’s has won a share of the Big East regular-season title for the first time since 1992. However, a win against Seton Hall (7-21, 2-15) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday or a Creighton loss at Xavier would give the Red Storms their first outright title since 1985.

Pitino made history as the first coach to lead two different Big East teams to a regular-season title, having previously done so with Louisville.

St. John’s remain on track to be the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament that will take place from March 13-16, giving them home-court advantage at Madison Square Garden.

Four players produce double digits as St. John’s set school record for conference wins

RJ Luis Jr. led the entire game by scoring 24 points on the road to victory against Butler, while the Red Storms’ forward also added four rebounds and one assist.

Kadary Richmond was also up for the game, scoring 13 points, along with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

RJ Luis Jr. of St. John's - Source: Imagn

The 6-foot-9 forward Zuby Ejiofor also notched up 12 points for the Red Storms, along with four rebounds and three assists.

The last Johnnies player to attain double digits in the game was Deivon Smith, who scored 10 points while also producing six rebounds and two assists.

The Johnnies are currently on a four-game winning streak and look unstoppable, especially at home, where they are 17-0.