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As St. John’s gears up for its long-awaited return to March Madness, former team captain and Babylon native Matt Brust sees a squad built for a deep tournament run — one defined by defensive intensity and an old-school mentality under legendary coach Rick Pitino.
The Red Storm just completed a dominant 30-4 regular season, securing their first Big East title since 2000. Now, as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they are set to face the Omaha Mavericks at 9:45 p.m. This marks the program’s first trip to the Big Dance in six seasons.
Brust, who won an NIT title with St. John’s and played in the NCAA Tournament, spoke with Greater Long Island about the team’s resurgence and what it takes to succeed in March.
Brust on St. John’s March Madness run
Brust credits Pitino for engineering the turnaround, particularly with his signature pressing defense, which has overwhelmed even top-tier Big East programs.
“It was about a little less than mid-season, you know, they were struggling a little bit, struggling to win ball games,” Brust said. “And then what Rick is famous for is his pressing defense, and he got them to play defense, and he started pressing teams, and they just — St. John’s just overwhelmed you defensively.”
“They just come at you in waves, and some teams don’t know how to handle that pressure,” he continued. “I watched Creighton, Marquette, and even Villanova — they just couldn’t get the ball inbounds against St. John’s. And defense wins championships.”
While St. John’s has had its share of offensive struggles, Brust believes their aggressive defense can carry them deep into the tournament.
“Sometimes they can’t throw it in the ocean, but their defense makes up for it,” he said. “They have nothing to lose. Nothing was really expected this year. And I think Rick surprised himself.”
Brust compared this year’s squad to his own playing days, when St. John’s was never an easy opponent — especially at Madison Square Garden.
“No matter who we played, we always believed we could win,” he said. “That’s the same mindset they have now. The tournament is a grind. It’s a lot of games in a row, and their regular season has been extended, so pressure teams typically have problems in tournaments, because they got to get rest and all the treatment to keep up that pace.”
As for his advice to the players before tipoff?
“I would tell my team to slow it down, walk the ball up. Make it a grind-out game,” Brust said. “If you just kind of take it easy, milk the shot clock, take good shots after three, four passes, you wear defenses down. A lot of these teams are one pass and it’s a three point shot, and that’s in St John’s favor.”
Despite the hype, Brust is clear on one thing: No team wants to play St. John’s right now.
“They’re loose, and that’s how you have to be,” he said. “Again, they’re not looking to win one game. They’re looking to go deep, if not all the way. And they are in the conversation of winning the whole thing. Whether they do that or not, we’ll see — that’s why it’s so wonderful. The tournament’s so wonderful because anybody can get hot and come out of nowhere.”
Watch the full interview
Top: St. John’s University Matt Brust playing defense during their National Invitation Tournament matchup in New York on Wednesday, March 15, 1989. The Redmen put away Ole Miss 70-67. (AP Photo/Susan Ragan)
