The father-son rivalry is back again
Since Xavier joined the Big East a dozen years ago, there hasn’t been serious buzz surrounding any Red Storm-Musketeers game. The closest the series ever came to anything of note was when Bashir Ahmed started a random handshake line tussle after a forgettable Big East Tournament blowout in 2018. That will all change starting next season.
Xavier is expected to hire Richard Pitino to be their newest head coach, as first reported by Jon Rothstein, guaranteeing that Richard and Rick will face each other at least twice a season. Pitino will replace outgoing head coach Sean Miller, who was hired by Texas last Sunday.
In four seasons at New Mexico, Pitino led the Lobos to an 88-49 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances, winning the Mountain West Conference title in 2024 and the regular season title this season. The Lobos defeated 7-seed Marquette in the First Round of this year’s NCAA Tournament, securing the program’s first March Madness win since 2012.
Rick and Richard Pitino have faced each other in four previous coaching matchups, having last met at Madison Square Garden this past November, where St. John’s defeated New Mexico by a score of 85-71. Previously, Rick won the first two meetings when the patriarch was the head coach at Louisville, while the junior Pitino won his first matchup while Rick was coaching Iona and Richard was at New Mexico in 2022.
Prior to working in Albuquerque, Pitino began his coaching career at FIU and led the Panthers to their first winning season in 13 years before he was hired up by Minnesota in 2013. Pitino coached the Golden Gophers for eight seasons and held a record of 141-123 during his time in Minneapolis, winning the NIT in his first season and leading them to two NCAA Tournament appearances before he was fired in 2021.