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Rick Pitino Will Face Off Against Mark Pope And Kentucky For The First Time After Schedule Shakeup

#College Basketball
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Mark Pope and Rick Pitino

Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


Rick Pitino won a national championship at Kentucky with a team that was led by Mark Pope, who recently wrapped up his first season as the head coach of the Wildcats. His former skipper is coming off of his second campaign at St. John’s, and the college basketball world is officially in for a treat next season now that they’re slated to face off against each other.

The men’s basketball program at the University of Kentucky has been blessed with a number of legendary head coaches since its inception, and that certainly includes Rick Pitino, who spent eight years in Lexington after taking the helm in 1989.

The Wildcats posted a 219–50 record during his tenure while making the NCAA Tournament every single time they were eligible and winning a national championship in 1996 thanks in no small part to the contributions of Mark Pope, who served as the captain of the team.

Both men are still doing pretty well for themself close to 30 years later. Pitino has breathed new life into St. John’s since arriving in Queens, while Pope led Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen after going 24-12 in his first season after replacing John Calipari.

Pitino and Calipari met in the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament in a highly anticipated game where Arkansas ended the Red Storm’s season, but the former hasn’t had the chance to face off against the man he coached for two years during his time at Kentucky.

Thankfully, that will no longer be the case when next season rolls around.

The 2025 CBS Sports Classic will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on December 20, 2025 and was initially slated to feature a showdown between North Carolina and Ohio State ahead of a contest between Kentucky and UCLA.

However, that will no longer be the case, as the Bruins have been replaced by St. John’s as CBS wisely opted to capitalize on a matchup that’s accompanied by an incredibly compelling storyline.

It’s not a stretch to suggest both teams could be ranked in the Top 10 by the time they end up meeting each other in December, so this will definitely be a matchup to circle on the calendar.