John Calipari Had Gruesome Description of His Friendly Rivalry with Kansas's Bill Self

Calipari greets Self before the 2012 national championship game. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Future Hall of Fame coaches John Calipari and Bill Self are no strangers to competing against each other on college basketball's biggest stage. Self's Jayhawks got the better of Calipari, then the coach at Memphis, in the 2008 national championship game. But Calipari, pacing the sidelines for Kentucky, got some measure of revenge when his Wildcats defeated Self and Kansas in the '12 title game. The two will face off once again in a highly anticipated matchup on Thursday when Calipari's 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks take on Self's No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Yes, the two coaches are rivals. But they're also friendly and respect one another. Calipari, while speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, perfectly described the complex—and at times macabre—nature of the friendly competition the two legendary coaches have.

"Playing someone I really respect, and have a friendship with, it's hard," Calipari said. "Because both of us are going to try to beat the other's brains in. After it's over, you both feel bad, 12 seconds, then you move on thinking about the next game."

Self, when asked to reflect on his past battles with Calipari, declined to offer much of substance, and was certainly not as vivid as his counterpart. The Kansas coach said he views the matchup as "team vs. team," rather than "coach vs. coach." But Self did admit that about a week ago he had a feeling his team would end up facing Calipari's squad in the first round.

The victor of the, er, gruesome battle between Calipari and Self will await the winner of the St. John's-Omaha matchup, potentially setting up another battle of Hall of Fame coaches against the Red Storm's Rick Pitino in the tourney's second round.

Arkansas and Kansas will tip off on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.

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