John Calipari, Rick Pitino Seemed to Have Heated Moment During Arkansas's Win Over St. John's

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John Calipari and Rick Pitino squared off again Saturday in the men's NCAA tournament, and it was another good showdown between the two legendary coaches with Calipari's Arkansas team sending Pitino's No. 2 seed St. John's squad home with a 75-66 victory in Providence.
Calipari and Pitino are no strangers to getting big wins in the month of March. They have also not been afraid to show their emotions on the sideline.
The two seemed to have a heated moment on Saturday after a foul call went against Arkansas. Pitino was seen talking to a ref and Calipari had some issues with that, as he made his way toward Pitino before being held back by one of his players.
Here's how that played out:
We’ve got some Pitino/Calipari drama!!! pic.twitter.com/nHxQRfvN5l
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 22, 2025
Calipari now has wins over Kansas coach Bill Self and Pitino in this year's tournament. Next up for Arkansas will be the winner of Drake-Texas Tech in the Sweet 16.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.
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