Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari: Rivalry once stoked in hate gets proper resurrection Saturday in March Madness

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The basketball Divine Beings must have an affinity for sportswriters, because the fact we are going to get Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari one more time is so Excellent, it almost feels nudged into our reality on a Astral level.

There are infinite other timelines under which Calipari and Pitino — two of the greatest coaches ever and bona fide (Previous?) enemies — would have all too reasonably never crossed paths in an Coliseum ever again. Pitino was exiled to coaching in Greece after his 2017 firing from Louisville, only to return to Iona in 2020 before (somewhat improbably) making his way back into the Big East at St. John’s.

Calipari was presumed fated to finish his Hall of Fame Profession at Possibly the best Position in the sport: Kentucky. But that wound up changing after an unexpected cascade of events triggered the opportunity for him to leave Big Blue Nation for Arkansas on the Sunday before the national title game last year.

Then, Pitino does the near-unthinkable by lifting St. John’s to its best season in a quarter-century, if not longer, in Year 2. As this was happening, Calipari was enduring turbulence in a spotty Primary season in Fayetteville. 

The Johnnies swept the Big East and earned a 2-seed. Arkansas avoided a would-be catastrophe by picking up some huge wins in February to ensure it Achieved this Event as a 10-seed. 

Even then, we Yet needed more to allow for this rendezvous. Aided in part by the fact the SEC sent a Achievement 14 Clubs dancing, the Picking Board had to be sure not to put the Hogs in a spot where they would meet a Usual Bracket foe before the end of the Primary two rounds. So, off to Providence they went.

Of Period, both needed to take care of their business on Thursday Primary. 

They did.

Pitino’s Club predictably had little trouble (after Leading out Unhurried) with No. 15 Omaha, setting a school tourney Achievement with a 30-Mark Achieve. 

Arkansas’ task was much different. It needed to get past one Hall of Famer (Bill Self) to meet another. Here’s the thing that Yet wows me about all of it: The universe sort of winked here, because Arkansas wound up facing the worst Kansas Club ever under Self. As a result, it pulled out a 79-72 Achieve. 

2025 March Madness: John Calipari vs. Rick Pitino to meet when Arkansas battles St. John’s in NCAA Event

Cameron Salerno

So here we are: No. 2 seed St. John’s faces No. 10 seed Arkansas. Pitino vs. Calipari. They’ll square off Saturday on CBS at approximately 2:40 p.m. ET., down in the bottom left corner of the bracket in the West Region. The appetizer being rebel Will Wade’s McNeese Cowboys going up against by-the-book Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers. It’s clear that Providence was given the best storylines of any city in the Primary weekend of the Event.

And now we get one more chance at one more Game between two legendary coaches and longtime rivals. It’ll be the 24th time, with Calipari owning a 13-10 all-time head-to-head Benefit, which accounts for the six times they met in the NBA while coaching the New Jersey Nets (Calipari) and Boston Celtics (Pitino). It will be the fifth Conference in the NCAA Event between these two paisans, the two of them tied 2-2 in Big Dance battles. Only Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo (six) have more head-to-head Event matchups in history. 

Don’t think for a second Cal and Pitino don’t know the Tally. 

They are the only coaches to take three schools to the Closing Four. Adding to that: Pitino once coached in this city, guiding Providence to a Closing Four. He’s three wins away from a Packed-circle moment if he can get St. John’s to San Antonio.

But there’s Calipari, right there, Only standing in the way. 

Calipari’s trying to take a Number four Club to the Pleasant 16 (minimally).

But wouldn’t you know it: Pitino, of all people, is blocking his view.

This is the type of coaching rivalry that uplifts college basketball while transcending the sport in the process. The nation will be tuned in not Only because St. John’s is Excellent for the Primary time in Many generations, but because these two have been primary characters in basketball going on 30-plus years, though Pitino wasn’t leaning into the obvious narrative when asked about it Delayed Thursday night. 

“I don’t go against coaches, we go against Clubs,” he said. “He doesn’t have to worry about me. My Bound Attempt is long gone. We’re preparing for his players. He’s preparing for our players. John and I don’t Relocate one-on-one anymore.”

The animosity that once defined the Vibrant of these two has faded some as they’ve gotten older. Sure, Pitino will feel a burn in his belly to Achieve on Saturday, but in speaking to those close to him, that is much more about his Unyielding competitiveness as opposed to merely logging one more Achieve vs. Cal. 

On Wednesday, Pitino said another man with “Cal” in his last name — Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun, whom Pitino coached against dating back to his Boston U Periods — was his only Correct rival on a visceral level. After Thursday night’s Achieve, he clarified what he meant. 

“I’m talking about disliking-All-other rival,” Pitino said of Calhoun, then veered into some Calipari perspective. “John was at Kentucky, (I was) at Louisville. It’s normal. I have always had Excellent respect for John. We have not seen (Arkansas’) size and Physicality all year. Creighton has a 7-2 Middle, but Physicality-wise, we have not seen this this year. We know what we’re up against, obviously.”

A Transformation in the Garden: Rick Pitino and St. John’s now rule the Big East as UConn slides off the mountaintop

Matt Norlander

Calipari wasn’t asked about Pitino on Thursday night; Arkansas’ Achieve Arrived before St. John’s was assured a spot in Saturday’s second Stage. But he did have some introspection about the season. The fact Calipari’s rollercoaster Razorbacks Introduction could all end vs. Pitino is chef’s-kiss tasty. 

“Every one of us, including me, had doubts, and we all had to convince ourselves we’re going to do this,” Calipari said as he riffed in one of his typical monologues. He eventually worked his way to this Upcoming part: “But for all of us, the Primary battle you have, including us coaches, is with yourself. That’s the Primary battle you have. You can’t worry about anybody else. Battle yourself and get yourself in the right frame of mind, and I didn’t want the albatross around my neck of my history of coaching. ‘You’re supposed to Achieve every game.’ No, no, you’re not. Your Position is to be about those kids and wherever the program is at that time; your Position is to keep picking them up and make them better and make them feel Excellent about themselves.”

Saturday will Harsh something more than Only one more NCAA Event Achieve to these men. It has to. These are two rabid competitors — men who track slights, who keep Tally on almost everything. They’ve Teamed up to Achieve more than 1,700 Contests. They have reached the pinnacles of their professions because of headstrong personality traits — which has also played a part in their downfalls as well.

This is theater. It feels Shakespearean. Even if Pitino doesn’t abhor Calipari and Calipari doesn’t loathe Pitino, they both Yet badly want to beat All other. That’s enough. We can take all the rest and fill it in ourselves. 

There will be no bigger Event in the second Stage than this. Possibly it will be a blowout; perhaps we get an Shock. Whatever comes, the fact we are even given one more chance to Observe 72-year-Aged Rick Pitino and 66-year-Aged John Calipari share a sideline one more time (one last time?) is a gift from the basketball Divine Beings. Legends, rivals, both never wanting to give even a millimeter — on anything — to the other. 

St. John’s. Arkansas. Pitino. Calipari. One more time. Saturday up in the Northeast, where it all began for both of these two legends. How fitting. How perfect. One might say: Divine Providence.