Recapping everything Rick Pitino said after St John's clinch Big East championship

Two years ago, Rick Pitino voiced high hopes for St John's during his introductory press conference at MSG. On Saturday, the No. 7 Red Storm defeated Seton Hall 71-61 for its first-ever outright regular season Big East title since 1985.

In the post-game interview, the coach highlighted the team's journey to feat, citing that the roster aspired to cut the nets in New York.

"Even though we had our goals, I kept telling them about getting on Broadway," he said (at 1:48). "I said, once you get on Broadway the pressure's there ... and I think that last two games, they were under a lot of pressure."

While Rick Pitino encouraged his team to embrace a high-stakes environment, he noticed that St John's success stemmed from focusing on one opponent at a time.

"So even though we wanted to win the Big East, we just went game by game by game," he said (2:30).

"And then it finally came when we had to win these games to get it - we didn't want to hear anything about a tie. We have respect for Creighton and everybody else in the league, but it was no ties for us."

Before Rick Pitino gripped the program, St John's had one 10-win conference run in the last eight years. Overall, the program has a 50-98 conference record in the stretch. Pitino has turned it around, mounting a 28-11 winning tide.

While he did not anticipate the timeline of the success, the coach highlighted how the school's foundation steered the basketball program in the right direction.

"It is a little different the other places I've been in the second year because you have eight or nine players back and everybody understands everything you teach and the culture and the system are there," he said (3:18).

"But we've had, I believe, four new starters this year. So, it's a little bit different. But the work ethic is still there, the philosophies is still there, building the culture is still there. But it is different."

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Rick Pitino reflects on significance of the Big East title

The last time St John's clinched the Big East title was under Lou Carnesecca, who led the program to its only 15-win conference run. With that, Rick Pitino reflected on the significance of the achievement in the same year as coach Carnesecca's passing.

"Lou means a lot to a lot of people," he said. "I coached against him, he was the gentleman of gentlemen, a fierce competitor, great basketball coach, so, we're real proud of the fact that in the year that he passed, because he led a great life, we can honor him with this championship."

Rick Pitino also emphasized the collective effort of the school. He noted the lack of certain high-end resources that other universities have and praised the program's alumni and representatives' resilience, passion and determination.