Pearl, Pitino share AP coach award in first-ever tie

Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a hoops schoolhouse and mightiness person his champion squad yet. Rick Pitino has done what helium does champion astatine St. John's, ushering successful a speedy turnaround.

Their successes this play led to the archetypal necktie successful the 58-year past of The Associated Press men's assemblage hoops Coach of the Year award.

Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes successful balloting released Friday from the nationalist media sheet that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville's Pat Kelsey received 8 votes, and Duke's Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three, and Drake's Ben McCollum and UC San Diego's Eric Olen each got 1 vote.

Pitino is the archetypal from St. John's to beryllium named AP Coach of the Year and the sixth successful Big East history. Marquette's Shaka Smart won the grant 2 years ago.

When Pitino was hired successful 2023, the Red Storm had been mired successful mediocrity. St. John's hadn't been to the NCAA tourney since 2019, and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the precocious 1990s.

Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his archetypal play and backmost into nationalist prominence this year. St. John's won the Big East regular-season rubric by going 18-2 and took its archetypal Big East tourney rubric since 2000.

The Red Storm matched a schoolhouse grounds with 31 wins -- marks acceptable successful the 1980s nether Lou Carnesecca -- and had their highest ranking successful the AP Top 25 successful in 34 years by reaching No. 5 successful the last regular-season poll. St. John's was a No. 2 effect successful the NCAA tourney and opened with a triumph implicit Omaha earlier losing to Arkansas successful the 2nd round.

Pitino's speedy occurrence follows a signifier helium acceptable successful erstwhile stops astatine Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the archetypal manager to pb six programs to the NCAA tournament.

"I person been blessed for a agelong play of time, fifty-plus years of coaching," Pitino said. "It's going to stop, truthful wherefore not person a blast? Why not get the astir retired of it? Laugh, person fun, get large experiences."

Pearl has surely been doing that since taking implicit astatine Auburn successful 2015.

The Tigers had not been to the NCAA tourney since 2003, and Pearl got them backmost into the bracket by his 4th season. Auburn took a immense leap the pursuing year, earning the program's archetypal travel to the Final Four successful 2019.

The Tigers person been adjacent to unstoppable this season.

Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent 8 consecutive weeks astatine No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season rubric and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 wide effect successful the NCAA tourney and bulled their mode done the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to scope the Final Four for the 2nd time.

Pearl joins Cliff Ellis successful 1999 arsenic the lone Auburn coaches to triumph AP Coach of the Year honors. He is archetypal SEC manager to triumph the grant since Kentucky's John Calipari 10 years ago.

"You privation to beryllium connected a large team, you've got to marque sacrifices," Pearl said. "You've got to share, and you've got to clasp each different accountable. I deliberation that's a large portion of what this locker country is each about. This is simply a squad of faith."

With a nationalist manager of the year, conscionable similar St. John's.