Carnesecca Arena goes to get a high-profile league game next 12 months.
After St. John’s knocked off Hofstra, 84-79, at UBS Arena on Saturday, Rick Pitino made the surprise announcement that he plans to play Connecticut within the small on-campus gym next 12 months somewhat than Madison Square Garden.
Asked if he was serious about that, Pitino responded: “100%. We’re playing them at Carnesecca. It’s definitely not a joke. I even have my reasons.”
Pitino was being asked about different venues St. John’s plays at, and if he was dissatisfied concerning the limited crowd of seven,486 at UBS Arena on Saturday.
“We didn’t sell-out against Xavier. We didn’t have anybody come to Barclays [Center]. We don’t have an abundance of fans,” he said. “We’re not UConn or Villanova with fans, and there’s a reason. We lost the brand. Louie [Carnesecca] has been gone a protracted time. So we got to construct the brand back and the people will come back.
“That is a superb place. Locker rooms are great — the whole lot about it’s great. We only had like 7,400 people today. At Barclays [Center] we had 54 of my family and friends, and 11 people from St. John’s. So the Garden is one of the best place to play, and straight away the one game that’s going to be played next 12 months at Carnesecca is Connecticut. Every other game we’re going to barter.”
Connecticut fans have taken over the Garden for the reason that Huskies returned to the Big East in 2020.
This could be one solution to neutralize them.
The 2 teams meet this 12 months at MSG on Feb. 3.
St. John’s last played UConn at Carnesecca Arena in 1990.