PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The second-round Arkansas vs St. John’s showdown Saturday afternoon is only the latest intertwinement of the careers of John Calipari and Rick Pitino.
It will be the 24th all-time meeting between the legendary coaches, dating back to before they won national titles and were elected to the Hall of Fame. Calipari owns a 13-10 edge in the previous matchups, but Pitino — the way he tells is — is a major reason for why the now-Arkansas coach landed his head coaching job at UMass back in 1988.
Despite having two seasons with basketball legend Julius Erving, followed by a stint with Pitino as their point guard, the Minutemen hadn’t reached an NCAA Tournament since 1962.