It has happened before with Rick Pitino: an inconsistent offensive team that struggles to shoot, but defends at an incredibly high level. 

Back in the day, Louisville overcame offensive challenges to make it to the Final Four. Similarly, the 10th-ranked St. John’s team has managed to win 22 out of its first 26 games this season and climb to the top of the Big East standings.

“Similar in the sense we were going to have to win extremely ugly in a lot of ways like St. John’s does,” Pitino’s son, Richard, an assistant on that Louisville team and currently the New Mexico head coach, told The Post over the phone. “Our defense and rebounding traveled. That’s why we were able to win a lot of games.” 

Those Cardinals shot 31.1 percent from 3-point range. They made only 68.6 percent of their free throws. They ranked 112th in offensive efficiency, but they were first in defense. They won the Big East Tournament, landed a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced all the way to the Final Four, before losing to eventual national champion Kentucky and Anthony Davis. Three of Louisville’s four tournament wins were decided by seven points or fewer, while holding the opposition to an average of 57.5 points in those four games.