Kentucky watch party goes wild over potential Rick Pitino-John Calipari March Madness 2025 clash
As soon as the words, “Rick Pitino and St.John’s,” aired across the CBS broadcast to announce the Johnnies’ seeding in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the crowd tuning into Selection Sunday inside Rupp Arena got loud.A collective “Oohh” could be heard alongside some claps as the Kentucky crowd recognized what could potentially unfold in Providence this weekend.By placing the Red Storm as a No.
2 seed in the West region, it set up a possible matchup against John Calipari and the No.10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks in next Saturday’s second round.Or, let’s be fair, it set up the potential next chapter in the Pitino vs.
Calipari blood feud.Even Wildcats coach Mark Pope -— who won a national title with Pitino in 1996 and succeeded Calipari at Kentucky — chuckled upon seeing what the NCAA had done with this quadrant of the bracket.“If I know anything about coach (Pitino), he wants all the smoke, man,” Pope said.“He wants all the smoke.
Bring it! It’s so competitive, every single round is so competitive.Every single team, whether there’s a 16 by your name or a one, these are all championship-caliber teams.“At the end of the day, probably the names don’t matter that much.
Everybody’s fighting for their life and that’s why the NCAA Tournament is so beautiful.It’s the greatest sporting event in the world.”Pitino and Calipari have developed quite the rivalry throughout the years, with an in-state feud, Kentucky history and even conference supremacy factoring into the mix.Both coaches won one national title with the Wildcats, which creates the classic debate of which coach had the better run with the program.The Post has you covered with a printable NCAA bracket featuring the full 68-team March Madness 2025 field.Pitino posted an .814 winning percentage over eight seasons before bolting for the NBA, while Calipari notched a .769 winning percentage over 15 seasons before exiting for SEC rival Arkansas.The two coaches battled as Conference USA...