NEW YORK — It hasn’t been easy for Chris Smith growing up in the shadows of his older brother.

J.R. Smith was a McDonald’s All-American, a preps-to-pros wunderkind out of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark and is now a shooting guard with the Knicks.

But on this special night, J.R. was the fan and Chris was a star when he scored 15 points to help Louisville win its second Big East tournament title in four years, 50-44, over Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden.

“To be in the Garden, a historic building, and my brother plays here, it’s the Big East championship,” Chris, a native of Millstone, N.J., said before embracing his brother on the court. “You know, for us to do this, it’s amazing.” (more…)

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino has been a forceful critic of schools exiting the Big East ever since the realignment tidal wave crashed upon the league last fall.

In September, he told SNY.tv that the idea of UConn potentially leaving the Big East for the ACC was “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

And late Friday night, after Louisville beat Notre Dame, 64-50, to advance to the Big East championship game against fellow former Conference USA member Cincinnati, Pitino had a few more parting shots for Syracuse.

“The interesting thing is how many people they’ll bring to Tobacco Road,” Pitino said of the top-seeded Orange, who were bounced by the Bearcats, 71-68. “That will be interesting. There’s not many Syracuse alums on Tobacco Road.” (more…)

NEW YORK — J.R. Smith texted his younger brother late Friday night shortly after Louisville advanced to the Big East championship game against Cincinnati.

“I heard you boys won,” J.R. told Chris, a senior shooting guard at Louisville. “Thanks for holding on for me.”

While the Knicks are mired in a four-game losing streak following their loss in Milwaukee Friday in which J.R. got his first start and scored just three points, Chris and the Cardinals are riding high under former Knicks coach Rick Pitino.

Their 64-50 semifinal win over No. 2 Notre Dame was their third straight here at the Garden and allows J.R. — who played this season in China until last month — to watch his younger brother for the first time all season. (more…)

In case you missed it Wednesday night, Louisville coach Rick Pitino had a little fun at the expense of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, first during a TV interview with an ESPN reporter after the Cardinals beat Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament and then again during the presser in response to one of my questions.

“I say this joking around,” Pitino said at the presser. “This guy Joe Lunardi has no agenda. How would you like to wake up in the morning and all you do is bracketology all day long? Can you imagine that? (more…)

NEW YORK — From where Rick Pitino sat courtside at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, Seton Hall is now safely in the NCAA Tournament and should take it easy on Louisville in Wednesday’s Big East second round.

“I was very excited because I think tonight’s win got them in the tournament, officially off the bubble,” Pitino told SNY.tv exclusively following No. 10 Seton Hall’s 79-47 rout of No. 15 Providence.

“And now what [Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard] should do is rest his starters and play his subs and not worry about the next game.” (more…)

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says Louisville will remain in the Big East and won’t head to the Big 12.

“I doubt it,” he said on Thursday’s Big East conference call. “I think that there was a chance last year but from what I understand some of the members of the [Big 12] conference don’t want to split the revenue and they want to stick at 11, so at least personally I’m hoping we stay put.

“But you never know in this landscape today, I don’t decide those things.” (more…)

NEWARK — Eleven Big East teams remain alive for an NCAA bid.

That’s not to say 11 will make it. They probably won’t.

But 11 teams are currently at or near the .500 mark in the league, which generally is good enough to generate an invite to the Big Dance.

After Saturday’s wild day of action, the following teams are above or at .500, or within striking distance: Syracuse (9-1), Marquette (7-2), Georgetown (6-3), Notre Dame (5-3), USF (5-3), UConn (4-3), Louisville (5-4), Cincinnati (5-4), West Virginia (5-4), Seton Hall (4-5) and Rutgers (4-5). (more…)

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse is the most “overpowering” arena in college basketball.

“The only place I have found that to me was overpowering was Kansas,” Pitino said Thursday on the Big East con call. “Now, I have not taken a team to Duke. There really is not any place I’ve entered where it’s, ‘God, that’s just incredible, what an advantage that is.’”

He added, “There are some overpowering places, in terms of the amount of people, like Rupp Arena’s overpowering.”

Just ask Baylor about Kansas. (more…)

A year ago at this time, Louisville coach Rick Pitino said he told Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard it would take “four or five years” to turn things around from the situation he inherited from former coach Bobby Gonzalez.

Relating a conversation he had with Willard in December 2010, Pitino told SNY.tv: “You better put your blueprint together and say what you’re building is not going to come to fruition until four or five years from now and you’ve got to be ready to take it.”

Fast forward a year and Willard is way ahead of Pitino’s timetable. (more…)

Rick Pitino didn’t use the word “retire,” but he said Tuesday that 2016-17 will be his last season as a basketball coach.

“When you’re 59, you’re realistic that you don’t have a whole lot of years left,” Pitino said before the No. 4 Cardinals played No. 12 Georgetown on Wednesday. “My contract’s going to run out in 2017. I’m not coaching anymore after that.”

Pitino has led three programs — Providence, Kentucky and Louisville — to the Final Four, and has also coached the Knicks and Boston Celtics. (more…)