Pitino is ready to face his former pupil
During his introductory press conference on Sunday afternoon, newest Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope pitched a potential game versus his college mentor’s team to tens of thousands of Wildcat fans inside Rupp Arena.
“Is anybody here down for a game versus St. John’s?”
While that proposal was intended to excite nostalgic Kentucky fans who remember when Rick Pitino and Mark Pope led the Wildcats to a 1996 national championship, it caught the ear of the Hall of Fame head coach. On Monday morning, Pitino answered the call via Twitter: an unequivocal yes.
Wow, just saw clips from our Captain’s press conference. Not shocked, but pleasantly surprised. Would expect nothing less from @CoachMarkPope. Also, @StJohnsBBall accepts, this year at UK, next year at the Mecca! Looking forward to saying goodbye to @KentuckyMBB.
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) April 15, 2024
If everything goes to plan, St. John’s will face Kentucky in a home-and-home series over the next two seasons in a pair of box office-worthy contests. The first game will be played in Lexington at Rupp Arena during the 2024-25 season; then, the second game will be played at Madison Square Garden during the 2025-26 season.
Since they first met on December 30, 1943, Kentucky has an 11-5 record against St. John’s. This home-and-home series would be the first time the two historic programs faced off in back-to-back seasons since the 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons.
The Red Storm last faced Kentucky during the 2011-12 season, when they were blown out by Anthony Davis and the first-ranked Wildcats by a score of 81-59 on December 1, 2011 at Rupp Arena.
St. John’s last defeated the Wildcats on November 9, 2000, in a narrow 62-61 victory at Madison Square Garden.