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Rick Pitino sheds light on relationship with John Calipari before head-to-head clash
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Rick Pitino met with reporters in Providence on Friday afternoon in advance of his highly-anticipated head-to-head matchup with John Calipari on Saturday.
Pitino’s St. John’s team and Calipari’s Arkansas squad will face off on Saturday
“I certainly have great respect for him, but we’re not really close,” Pitino said. “John, we don’t know each other’s wives, we don’t know each other’s children. So we’re not really close friends like Bill [Self] and John have a very close relationship … I don’t know a whole lot about him except that he’s a terrific basketball coach.
“We’re both Italian. We both love the game. I think that’s pretty much where the similarities end.”
Pitino and Calipari were once fierce rivals when they led Louisville and Kentucky, respectively. As Pitino noted in the video above, he’s known Calipari for decades even though the two legendary aren’t close friends.
On Saturday, their teams will meet with very high stakes. Arkansas is looking to make the Sweet 16 in its first season with Calipari at the helm. St. John’s won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2000 on Thursday, but the Red Storm have not reached the Sweet 16 since 1999.
Tip-off is set for 2:40 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
