Calipari bests Pitino in March Madness and leads Arkansas to sweetest Sweet 16 appearance yet
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — John Calipari is heading back to the Sweet 16 after sending a second straight Hall of Famer home from the NCAA Tournament’s “Region of Coaches.”
One game after knocking out good friend Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks, Calipari's 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and St. John's 75-66 on Saturday.
That earned Calipari an especially sweet 16th trip to the Sweet 16, with his fourth school. And, perhaps more deliciously, it ended Pitino's chances of a long March Madness run with his second-seeded Red Storm.
“Rick did a great job with his team all year,” Calipari said. “If they made a few shots, they would probably beat us. We were fortunate to get out.”
Pitino and Calipari have crossed paths for almost 50 years, with a rivalry that peaked when Calipari was at Kentucky, where Pitino had won an NCAA title, and Pitino was down the road in Louisville. Although the two Hall of Famers insist they have no ill will toward one another, they are most definitely not friends.
The coaches shared a polite pregame handshake and met at center court when it was over, with the Arkansas’ fans chants of “Wooo pig sooie!” finally heard over the Pitino-loving crowd.
“They outplayed us. They deserve to move on and we don’t,” Pitino said. “That’s what March Madness is all about. No matter how good a regular season you have, you play this way, you’re going to get beat.”
The scoreboard: Calipari is 17-13 against Pitino, including the six NBA matchups they split. Cal is now 3-2 against his elder in the NCAA Tournament; in fact, the Arkansas coach entered this year's brackets with 56 March Madness wins, tied for the most among active coaches with Michigan State's Tom Izzo. Both are still in the field.
Calipari has now taken UMass, Memphis, Kentucky and Arkansas to the Sweet 16. Pitino made it with Providence, Kentucky and Louisville, but never got out of the first weekend with Boston University, Iona or — so far — St. John's.
But Pitino has two national championships — with Kentucky and Louisville — to one for Calipari.
“You know, he’s on Chapter 2 of his new book and we’re on Chapter 1,” Calipari said this week. “As a matter of fact, we’re probably on the first few pages of the chapter. It’s both of us writing another story and being able to come back here.”
Calipari led the Wildcats to the 2012 national title — 16 years after Pitino won in Lexington — but after a five-year span in which the Wildcats won just one March Madness game, he defected to Arkansas to start fresh.
Beset by early injuries, the Razorbacks lost their first five games in an unprecedentedly deep Southeastern Conference before earning their way into the NCAA Tournament after missing just one year.
“We had a long, up-and-down season,” said Arkansas freshman Billy Richmond III, who scored 16 points on Saturday. “We all came together, put our egos to the side and became one heartbeat.”
Calipari tried to get in good with the fans in Providence by talking about all the Italian restaurants he’s hit on Federal Hill — “ under the pineapple,” in the local parlance. But that was a losing battle this weekend: Whatever split there might be in Kentucky over their popularity, Providence is all Pitino.
The 72-year-old New Yorker remains beloved in the city where he led the Friars to the 1987 Final Four. He continued to vacation in tony Newport for years, even as he climbed the coaching ladder, slid to the bottom, and started his way back up again.
Although Arkansas led most of the game, the Pitino fans outshouted the Razorback backers, rising to a thunderous cheer when Zuby Ejiofor responded to a flagrant foul with a rim-shaking dunk. Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. followed with a steal and a dunk of his own to tie it 24-all, and the crowd sent St. John’s into a timeout with a chant of “Let’s go, Johnnies!”
Arkansas led by as many as 13 in the second half and still had an eight-point edge before the Johnnies cut it to 62-60 with 6:11 to play. But Pitino, who has built his career on full-court defense and 3-point shooting, could only summon one of them when he needed it.
St. John’s shot 2 for 22 from 3-point range — Arkansas was barely better, at 2 for 19 — and the Red Storm missed six straight from beyond the arc in the final minutes.
“We thought we were championship-driven in our minds, but I have been disappointed before with this," Pitino said. “I don’t mind going out with a loss, I just hate to see us play that way offensively. It’s just a bitter pill to swallow with that type of performance.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Topics
-
Calipari bests Pitino in March Madness and leads Arkansas to sweetest Sweet 16 appearance yet
John Calipari is heading back to the Sweet 16 after sending a second straight Hall of Famer home from the NCAA Tournament’s “Region of Coaches.”ABC News - 1d -
Sweet 16: Calipari guides Arkansas past Pitino, St. John's 75-66 for 16th trip to regional semifinal
John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, and this one could be the sweetest of all. Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and No. 2 seed St. John’s ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
'Legend' Calipari leads Razorbacks into Sweet 16
John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, guiding the Razorbacks past nemesis Rick Pitino and second-seeded St. John's 75-66 to bring his fourth school to the NCAA tournament's ...ESPN - 13h -
John Calipari's not done yet: Sweet 16 run after besting Rick Pitino adds new chapter to complicated career
Arkansas is in the Sweet 16 and, after his shocking leave at Kentucky a year ago, Calipari is once again finding ways to prove a lot of people wrongCBS Sports - 1d -
No. 2 St. John's knocked out of NCAA Tournament by No. 10 Arkansas
John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time, guiding the Arkansas Razorbacks past nemesis Rick Pitino and St. John's.CBS News - 1d -
Arkansas, Calipari stun Pitino and No. 2 St. John's to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness
It was Arkansas vs. St. John's. It was John Calipari vs. Rick Pitino. It was a tense, physical affair. It resulted in Arkansas reaching the Sweet 16.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
March Madness: Kentucky beats Illinois to return to Sweet 16 for first time since 2019
Kentucky's back in the Sweet 16 behind a big game from Koby Brea and will join John Calipari in the NCAA tournament's second weekend.Yahoo Sports - 7h -
Arkansas upset second-seeded St John’s to reach Sweet 16 in March Madness stunner
No 10 Arkansas beat No 2 St John’s 75-66 in second round Purdue end McNeese’s run 76-62 to get back to Sweet 16 Cheat sheet: highlights and how to win your bracket John Calipari is heading to ...The Guardian - 1d -
March Madness: Arkansas, John Calipari hand Kansas its first NCAA tournament first-round loss since 2006
Kansas had won 17 straight first-round games in NCAA tournament play. The win for Arkansas sets up a potential second-round coaching showdown between John Calipari and Rick Pitino.Yahoo Sports - 3d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Erin Cuthbert brings Chelsea a needed boost of ‘desire’, giving ‘her heart and soul every game’
Erin Cuthbert is known as the “aggressivity booster” on the Chelsea squad. She’s someone who sets the tone, drives standards and holds her team-mates to account. When head coach Sonia Bompastor ...Yahoo Sports - 41m -
Fabrizio Romano declares ‘”it’s over” for two Chelsea players in brutal outgoing updates
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has declared that it’s over for two Chelsea players in some brutal outgoing updates this weekend.Romano has been putting his latest info out on his YouTube channel ...Yahoo Sports - 42m -
Commander Peter Bruce, naval engineer and racing yachtsman who sailed to win
Commander Peter Bruce, who has died aged 83, was a naval engineer, accomplished skier and a highly successful racing yachtsman.Yahoo Sports - 55m -
San Antonio faces Detroit on 3-game win streak
Yahoo Sports - 56m -
Golden State visits Miami following Wiggins' 42-point game
Yahoo Sports - 56m
More in Sports
-
Sources: Texas nearing deal with Xavier's Miller
Less than a week after appearing in the First Four of the NCAA tournament, where it lost to Xavier, Texas on Sunday informed coach Rodney Terry that he has been fired, with athletic director Chris ...ESPN - 28m -
Hurley: UConn's historic run ends with 'honor'
UConn coach Dan Hurley said there was "some honor" in the end to UConn's 13-game tournament win streak, which was halted in a narrow loss to Florida on Sunday.ESPN - 28m -
Sources: Curry joining Dubs in Miami; status TBD
Warriors star Stephen Curry is traveling to join the team in Miami, and his status for Tuesday's game against the Heat will depend on how his pelvic bruise responds to treatment over the next two ...ESPN - 28m -
Queen's buzzer shot sends Terrapins to Sweet 16
Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to lift Maryland over Colorado State 72-71 and into the Sweet 16.ESPN - 28m -
Poch: U.S. has 'time' to fix issues before World Cup
After suffering two defeats in the Concacaf Nations League, United States manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted that his side still has enough time to turn things around before the 2026 World Cup.ESPN - 28m