Rick Pitino is BACK! St. John’s + Broken Brackets?

From Moving The Goal Posts by Empty The Bench Network

March 26, 2026 · 1h 4m

About this episode

The episode discusses the recent developments in March Madness, including St. John's return to the Sweet 16 and coaching changes in college basketball.

The bracket has been cut to sixteen, and the coaching carousel is already spinning at a breakneck pace. Join Nick DiMartino and Johnny Montalbano for Episode 107 of Moving The Goal Posts as we break down a transformative opening weekend of March Madness and a massive shift in the NBA hierarchy. We lead with the toast of New York: St. John’s is back in the Sweet 16 . For the first time since 1999, the Red Storm have punched their ticket to the second weekend following Dylan Darling’s legendary buzzer-beating layup to stun Kansas. We analyze the "Pitino Effect," Zuby Ejiofor’s dominance in the paint, and whether the Johnnies have the defensive grit to pull off the ultimate upset against overall #1 seed Duke in Washington. The conversation turns to the brewing controversy in Chapel Hill. Following a historic collapse against VCU, the pressure on Hubert Davis reached a boiling point. We discuss the fallout of the Tar Heels' second consecutive opening-round exit and the "Standard of Excellence" that defines blue-blood basketball. [PLEASE NOTE: Following the recording of this episode, the University of North Carolina officially announced that Hubert Davis has been fired as head coach.]…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nick DiMartino, Johnny Montalbano

Topics covered

March Madness
NBA hierarchy
St. John's basketball
coaching changes
Cinderella era
transfer portal
NIL

Keywords

March Madness
St. John's
Duke
Hubert Davis
NIL
Cinderella
basketball
coaching carousel
transfer portal
VCU

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: St. John’s, Kansas, Duke, University of North Carolina, VCU