Rick Pitino and John Calipari Rekindle Rivalry in NCAA Tournament Showdown

Rick Pitino and John Calipari Rekindle Rivalry in NCAA Tournament Showdown

The storied rivalry between Rick Pitino and John Calipari is set to resume on Saturday afternoon, as Pitino’s No. 2 seed St. John’s faces Calipari’s No. 10 seed Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament West Regional second round at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. Arkansas secured a hard-fought 79-72 victory over No. 7 seed Kansas in their opening game, while St. John’s cruised past Omaha 83-53 in their first-round matchup.

This marks the 24th meeting between the two coaching giants, including their fifth NCAA Tournament matchup. Calipari, 66, holds a 13-10 edge over Pitino, 72. The two also have a history of facing off in the NBA, when Pitino coached the Boston Celtics and Calipari led the New Jersey Nets in the late 1990s, with each coach winning two games.

Pitino’s career has seen 885 victories, placing him fifth all-time among Division I men’s coaches, while Calipari’s 876 wins tie him with Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp for eighth place. Pitino was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, while Calipari followed with his induction two years later.

Despite the competitive nature of their past, Pitino downplayed the rivalry during a pre-tournament press conference, noting that his strongest rivalry was with Jim Calhoun, whom he faced off against when they were both coaching in the Northeast. However, Pitino did acknowledge that the competition between him and Calipari heated up when Calipari was at Kentucky and Pitino was at Louisville, particularly during their time in the 2010s.

Pitino and Calipari’s rivalry dates back to 1991 when they first clashed in a game between Pitino’s Kentucky team and Calipari’s UMass squad. Pitino’s teams held a 4-1 edge over Calipari while they were at Kentucky and UMass, with Calipari’s only victory coming in 1995 when UMass upset No. 1 Kentucky in the season opener. The two coaches’ paths continued to intersect during their time at Memphis and Louisville in the early 2000s, with both schools competing in the Conference USA.

The rivalry gained renewed intensity when Calipari took over at Kentucky in 2009, with Kentucky winning eight of the 10 matchups between the two coaches. The last meeting occurred in December 2016, when Louisville narrowly defeated Kentucky 73-70.

Since then, both coaches have had significant career developments. Pitino was fired by Louisville in 2017 amid an FBI investigation, but he later returned to coaching at Iona University and was hired by St. John’s in 2023. Calipari, after 15 years at Kentucky, moved to Arkansas in 2024, facing a rebuilding challenge with the Razorbacks.

Arkansas’ first season under Calipari has been rocky, with the team struggling in SEC play but showing resilience in their opening-round victory over Kansas. Pitino is well aware of the challenge Arkansas presents, highlighting the team’s size and athleticism. "We haven't seen this type of athleticism all year," he said. "If they finished eighth or ninth in the SEC, the talent level in that conference is amazing."

St. John’s, on the other hand, is riding high after a dominant second-half performance against Omaha, and Pitino’s squad is looking to build on their impressive 31-4 record. They have won 10 straight games and 20 of their past 21, making them a formidable opponent in Saturday’s contest.

For Pitino, though, the focus remains on his team rather than the personal rivalry with Calipari. "I don’t go against coaches," Pitino said. "We go against teams. Calipari doesn’t have to worry about me. We’ve got to prepare for his players, and he’s got to prepare for ours. John and I don’t play one on one anymore."

With both coaches eyeing a spot in the next round, fans can expect another thrilling chapter in one of college basketball’s most enduring rivalries

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