Rick Pitino and St. John's thumped Omaha, 83-53, to set up a clash with John Calipari and Arkansasin the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It marks the 29th all-time meeting between the two Naismith Hall of Famers and the first since Pitino left Louisville in 2017. Pitino downplayed any "rivalry" with Calipari during Wednesday's pre-tournament press conference, stating the coach he "hated" the most during his career was Jim Calhoun. Reporters followed up with the Red Storm coach on Thursday, asking why he didn't have the same disdain for Calipari as he did Calhoun.
"I'm talking about disliking each other," Pitino said. "The only time [I was a rival] with John was when he was at Kentucky and I was at Louisville. It's normal. I've always had great respect for John."
Calipari owns a 13-10 record in head-to-head Pitino at the college level, and the two went 3-3 against another in the NBA. The Round of 32 matchup marks the fifth NCAA Tournament clash between the two. Pitino's Kentucky teams beat Calipari's UMass in the 1992 Sweet 16 and 1996 Final Four. Calipari won the last two March Madness matchups against Pitino as his Kentucky squads took down Louisville in the 2012 Final Four and upset the top-seeded Cardinals in the 2014 Sweet 16.
"I don't go against coaches, I go against teams," Pitino said. "John doesn't have to worry about me. My jump shot is long gone. He's got to prepare for our team. We've got to prepare for his players. John and I don't play one-on-one anymore.
St. John's opened up as a 7.5-point favorite over Arkansas, per FanDuel. Still, Pitino said his team is on high alert for Calipari's Arkansas squad after it beat No. 7 seed Kansas in the first round. The Razorbacks boast multiple future NBA Draft picks and have plenty of size with 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic and 6-foot-11 Jonas Aidoo in the paint. Zuby Ejiofor is the tallest member of the St. John's starting lineup at 6-foot-9.
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"I told our team that we have not seen this type of size and this type of athleticism all year," Pitino said of Arkansas. "Creighton has a 7-foot-2 center, but Arkansas has multiple guys. We haven't seen this type of athleticism all year. We know what we are up against. They had a lot of injuries, which is why they opened up 0-5 (in SEC play). But they got it together now. If they finished eighth or ninth in the SEC, based on what I watched against Kansas, I'm glad we're not in the SEC. The talent level in that conference is amazing to me."