Rick Pitino and St. John’s secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed following a remarkable Big East season. Unfortunately, they faced an upset in the round of 32, falling to John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Simultaneously, Rick’s son, Richard Pitino, led New Mexico to the tournament, but the Lobos also met their demise in the round of 32 against Michigan State. At the conclusion of the season, Richard Pitino accepted the head coaching position at Xavier, departing from New Mexico after coaching the Lobos from 2021 to 2025. In the wake of his departure, New Mexico’s Director of Athletics, Fernando Lovo, expressed gratitude for Richard Pitino and conveyed a positive message to the Lobos fans.
Over the past two decades, Richard Pitino has been climbing the ladder in college basketball, following in his father’s footsteps. Now serving as the head coach at Xavier, he has previously held coaching roles at Minnesota, Florida International University, Louisville, Florida, Northeastern, and Charleston.
New Mexico Lobos head coach Richard Pitino and St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino greet each other.
Richard Pitino and Rick Pitino are gearing up to go head-to-head in the Big East, with Richard now at the helm of Xavier. Their teams will clash as Xavier faces off against Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm, who triumphed in this season’s Big East Tournament.
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