The John Calipari and Rick Pitino Rivalry Takes an Unusual Turn in the NCAA Tournament

Ten years doesn’t seem that long ago. The Commonwealth of Kentucky was atop the college basketball world. Over a four-season span, Louisville and Kentucky combined to win two National Championships and went to six Final Fours. It reached a crescendo when undefeated Kentucky went to the Yum! Center and beat No. 4 Louisville in a 58-50 slobber-knocker.

John Calipari and Rick Pitino were maestros on the sideline, conducting programs that elevated them to Hall of Fame heights. No one would have believed that they would end up here.

The @nypostsports back page is a beauty … https://t.co/h0YSrNwglA #sjubb pic.twitter.com/Qx7tft4P9r

— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) March 22, 2025

John Calipari is wearing a shade of red, one that is similar to the color he donned at UMass when he first met Rick Pitino in the NCAA Tournament. Now he’s the Head Hog at Arkansas as Rick Pitino has resurrected the St. John’s basketball program. It will be a surreal sight to see the two hold court in Providence this afternoon at 2:40 p.m. EST on CBS.

Memorable Matchups

John Calipari and Rick Pitino are the only two coaches to take three different teams to the Final Four. One of them will be two games away from taking a fourth school to a Final Four.

Cal was an assistant at Pittsburgh when Pitino guided Billy Donovan and Providence to the Final Four in 1987. Pitino actually advocated for Calipari to get his first head coaching job at UMass. They first went head to head in 1991 and met in the NCAA Tournament the following year. The Minutemen were mounting a comeback on the Cats in the Sweet 16 when Calipari was teed up, setting the stage for the greatest college basketball game ever played. Marcus Camby evened the score in the 1996 regular season before Pitino got the last laugh at the Final Four. Pitino took a 4-1 early lead in the series.

While most of the college basketball world thinks of their rivalry at Kentucky and Louisville, things were heated during Calipari’s time at Memphis. Darius Washington wrote the most memorable chapter. With zeros on the clock, he had three free throws to win the C-USA Tournament Championship. He made the first, and only needed to make 1-2 to send it into overtime. He missed both and fell to the floor in tears. Pitino and Calipari split their eight games during Cal’s time at Memphis.

We all know how things went for Rick once Calipari got to Kentucky. Louisville still hasn’t won a game at Rupp Arena, dating all the way back to 2008. Kentucky eliminated Louisville from two NCAA Tournaments, including the 2012 Final Four. Pitino only logged two wins in ten tries against Cal’s Cats, but he did win the most recent matchup in 2016.

History Tells Us Who has the Advantage

If you’re looking for a trend to pick a winner in today’s game, there’s one common theme in this rivalry between Hall of Fame coaches. Whoever is coaching Kentucky is going to win. In fifteen games, the Kentucky coach won a dozen times, including a perfect 4-0 record in the NCAA Tournament. Neither coach will be rocking Kentucky blue today.

Calipari vs. Pitino Head-to-Head

The two also faced each other six times when Calipari coached the Nets and Pitino coached the Celtics. Cal has a 16-13 all-time advantage and is 13-10 in the college ranks.

Date	Result	Score	Winning Coach
Dec. 4, 1991	Kentucky (Pitino) beats UMass (Calipari)	90-69	Pitino
March 26, 1992	Kentucky (Pitino) beats UMass (Calipari)	87-77	Pitino
Feb. 6, 1994	Kentucky (Pitino) beats UMass (Calipari)	67-64	Pitino
Nov. 28, 1995	UMass (Calipari) beats Kentucky (Pitino)	92-82	Calipari
March 30, 1996	Kentucky (Pitino) beats UMass (Calipari)	81-74	Pitino
Nov. 19, 1997	New Jersey Nets (Calipari) beats Boston Celtics (Pitino)	108-100	Calipari
Nov. 21, 1997	Boston Celtics (Pitino) beats New Jersey Nets (Calipari)	101-93	Pitino
March 27, 1998	Boston Celtics (Pitino) beats New Jersey Nets (Calipari)	82-76	Pitino
April 8, 1998	New Jersey Nets (Calipari) beats Boston Celtics (Pitino)	117-104	Calipari
Feb. 27, 1999	Boston Celtics (Pitino) beats New Jersey Nets (Calipari)	101-92	Pitino
March 1, 1999	New Jersey Nets (Calipari) beats Boston Celtics (Pitino)	99-97	Calipari
Jan. 30, 2002	Memphis (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	80-70	Calipari
Feb. 19, 2003	Memphis (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	80-73	Calipari
March 14, 2003	Louisville (Pitino) beats Memphis (Calipari)	78-75	Pitino
Feb. 4, 2004	Memphis (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	62-58	Calipari
Feb. 28, 2004	Louisville (Pitino) beats Memphis (Calipari)	66-60	Pitino
Feb. 9, 2005	Memphis (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	68-65	Calipari
Feb. 26, 2005	Louisville (Pitino) beats Memphis (Calipari)	53-44	Pitino
March 12, 2005	Louisville (Pitino) beats Memphis (Calipari)	75-74	Pitino
Jan. 2, 2010	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	71-62	Calipari
Dec. 31, 2010	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	78-63	Calipari
Dec. 31, 2011	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	69-62	Calipari
Dec. 29, 2012	Louisville (Pitino) beats Kentucky (Calipari)	80-77	Pitino
March 31, 2012	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	69-61	Calipari
Dec. 28, 2013	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	73-68	Calipari
March 28, 2014	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	74-69	Calipari
Dec. 27, 2014	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	58-50	Calipari
Dec. 26, 2015	Kentucky (Calipari) beats Louisville (Pitino)	75-73	Calipari
Dec. 21, 2016	Louisville (Pitino) beats Kentucky (Calipari)	73-70	Pitino

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