Mark Pope loves potential St. John's vs. Arkansas matchup: "Coach P wants all that smoke"

Outside of Kentucky’s draw and Louisville’s No. 8 seed, the biggest NCAA Tournament storyline in the Bluegrass today is the potential second-round matchup between St. John’s and Arkansas. Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari would draw massive ratings in the Commonwealth as the former Kentucky coaches and rivals face off for a spot in the Sweet 16. Even Mark Pope, Pitino’s former player who succeeded Calipari in Lexington, said he’s rooting for it.

“Listen, if I know anything about Coach P, he wants all the smoke, man,” Pope said when asked about the possibility of Pitino vs. Calipari at last night’s Selection Sunday watch party. “He wants all the smoke. Bring it.”

Of course, there are a few games to play for this dream matchup to become a reality. No. 10 seed Arkansas would have to upset No. 7 seed Kansas in the first round, yet another matchup between John Calipari vs. Bill Self. The Jayhawks, the preseason No. 1 team in the country, have struggled this season, falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 80 weeks and earning their lowest NCAA Tournament seed in 25 years. They’re a 4.5-point favorite vs. the Razorbacks, who have also underwhelmed this season, Calipari’s first in Fayetteville. As we are all too aware, Calipari has only made it out of the first round once in the past three NCAA Tournaments.

Meanwhile, Rick Pitino will be making his 24th NCAA Tournament appearance, coaching a surging St. John’s squad that earned a No. 2 seed, the Red Storm’s highest since it won its last Big East Tournament Championship in 2025. St. John’s faces No. 15 seed Omaha in the first round. Unless the Mavericks pull off a massive upset and bang the victory trash cans, Pitino will reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, his final season at Louisville.

If Arkansas gets past Kansas and St. John’s takes care of business vs. Omaha, it will pit the only two college basketball coaches who have taken three different schools to a Final Four against each other. The two Hall of Famers have squared off several times during their careers, but the rivalry reached a peak during Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky and Pitino’s at Louisville when Cal owned an 8-2 edge, including two NCAA Tournament wins. The last game between the two? One of Louisville’s two victories over Kentucky during that span, a 73-70 win at the Yum Center.

The game would take place Saturday in Providence, where Pitino coached for two seasons. Both Calipari and Pitino are the subjects of VICE docuseries, meaning cameras will be rolling from every angle. During his interview with Matt Jones and Myron Medcalf on ESPN Radio, Pope admitted he wished Kentucky was also playing in Providence so he could see it firsthand.

“This is not going to be a popular take, I understand that, but I’m like, why can’t we be in that grouping?” Pope said. “On a personal level, this is what the NCAA Tournament is supposed to be; it’s supposed to be about all the drama! We’re going to have plenty of drama. I’m not complaining at all. We’re going to have all the drama we could possibly handle, but I just love it. I love the storylines. It’s good for the game.”

“You don’t come to Kentucky if you’re trying to run from the smoke,” Pope added. “I know Coach P definitely feels that way. I’m sure Coach Cal feels that way. It’s like, bring it and let’s go, man. Let’s go. It’s pretty exciting.”

The last time we saw Rick Pitino talk about John Calipari, it was to encourage Kentucky fans not to boo Cal when he walked into Rupp Arena for the first time as Arkansas’ coach. Now, the two coaches could be squaring off once again. Like Pope said, bring on the drama.