Rick Pitino sends Christian Laettner warning to Duke

Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley didn't hide on Sunday night that he is already thinking about a potential fourth meeting of the season involving his program and the St. John’s Red Storm, this time in the Elite Eight of the ongoing NCAA Tournament. 

However, St. John's head coach Rick Pitino was thinking about his past while he spoke about the Red Storm's upcoming game versus the No. 1 overall-seeded Duke Blue Devils this coming Friday evening (7:10 p.m. ET). 

Rick Pitino still wants revenge for Christian Laettner heartbreak

"You win some, you lose some," Pitino said after guard Dylan Darling scored a buzzer-beater layup to propel St. John's to a 67-65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, per Heavy's Alder Almo. "And I’m hoping we can get Duke at the buzzer next to make up for that Christian Laettner shot." 

As Adam Zagoria noted for NJ Advance Media, Laettner made one of the most famous shots in tournament history to lead Duke past Pitino's Kentucky team in the 1992 East Regional final. Some likely will predict throughout this week that Friday's matchup between St. John's and Duke won't come down to a last-second basket. 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Duke as a 7.5-point favorite for the Sweet 16 contest. 

Rick Pitino sends warning to St. John's after win over Kansas 

The Johnnies blew a 14-point lead against Kansas, and the previously mentioned Darling had gone 0-4 when he took possession of the basketball with 3.9 seconds remaining in the game. As massive as Sunday's result was for St. John's, Pitino made it clear he wants his players focused on the difficult task ahead. 

"We’re going to play Duke with our hearts out and be real proud of what we’ve accomplished," Pitino added. "But don’t embrace anything that’s happened. Get ready for Duke." 

No. 2 UConn will face the No. 3-seeded Michigan State Spartans on Friday. Like Pitino, Hurley may also have revenge on his mind after his team was blown out by St. John's in this year's Big East Tournament final.