Rick Pitino reacts to viral brawl between Providence, St. John’s: ‘That’s not the Friars I remember’

St John’s 79-69 win over Providence will be defined by the fight that occurred early in the second half that was incited by a hard foul from the Friars’ Duncan Powell and Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins.

Media wasted no time in asking Rick Pitino his thoughts on the brawl during his postgame press conference. He joked, saying he’d keep his comments brief before fans “start beating up the coaches,” referring to the multiple fan ejections stemming from the on-court incident.

“I think you saw it as well as me, but I didn’t have the film in front of me to look at everybody,” Pitino said. “You’re not supposed to come off the bench (as a coach), but you can’t let your players get beat up.”

Hopkins, who played three seasons for Providence, took exception to the foul and immediately got off the ground to confront Powell. This led to both benches getting involved to separate the pair, which incited further tension between others.

In the end, the officials took 19 minutes to sort out the fouls and ejections. In the end, six players were ejected. Powell and Jaylin Sellers for Providence. Meanwhile, four St. John’s players got tossed: Dillon Mitchell, Kelvin Odih, Ruben Prey, Sadiku Ibine Ayo. Later in the second half, Providence’s Jamier Jones appeared to shove Zuby Ejiofor on a layup attempt.

“And look, it was a tough game to officiate,” Pitino continued. “Certainly, the crowd, I think, lost objectivity of what they’re here for. If they’re just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that’s not the Friars I remember in ’87.”

Saturday’s win improves the Red Storm to 13-1 against the Big East and 20-5 overall. St John’s has also won their last 11 games of the season, with just six left on its regular-season schedule.

It’s unclear how, or if Pitino will discipline his players for their part in the fight. Notably, Hopkins remained in the game despite being in the middle of the fracas. No foul was assessed on him after getting in Powell’s face following the play.

Looking ahead, St John’s will travel to Marquette on Wednesday. Providence, meanwhile, hits the road for a game against DePaul next Saturday.