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Donovan Mitchell sends a blunt warning to Duke before Sweet 16 round

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Rex Villas | Last updated Mar 25, 2026 1:33 PM ET

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has supreme confidence that his former college coach will get the job done against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Following the Cavs’ 136-131 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, Mitchell was heard on broadcast taking a shot at the Blue Devils while having a banter with Duke product and Orlando forward Paolo Banchero.

“St. John’s gonna bust yall’s a–,” Mitchell told Banchero before proceeding to do a postgame interview.

Spida to Paolo:

"St John's gonna bust yall's a$$" pic.twitter.com/Nqc1i2gxL9
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 25, 2026

Mitchell isn’t from the St. John’s Red Storm basketball program, but he definitely wants to see his former Louisville Cardinals head coach, Rick Pitino, to steer the Big East team past the No. 1 seed Blue Devils.

The fifth-seeded Red Storm will face Duke on Friday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Duke is among the top favorites to be the last team standing in the Big Dance, but the Blue Devils showed some cracks in the first round, when they barely got past the No. 16 seed Siena Saints, 71-65. They got their moxie back in an 81-58 demolition of the No. 9 seed TCU Horned Frogs, but St. John’s present a serious threat to the Jon Scheyer-coached Blue Devils.

Mitchell, who dropped 42 points on the Magic, saw the No. 6 seed Cardinals fall in the second round to the No. 3 seed Michigan State Spartans, but he still has Pitino and the Red Storm to keep him invested in the tournament.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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