Kentucky basketball vs Rick Pitino memorable games versus former coach

LEXINGTON — After Adolph Rupp, Rick Pitino might be the best coach in Kentucky basketball‘s rich history.

Or it could be John Calipari.

Pitino’s winning percentage (81.4) is second only to Rupp (82.2). But Calipari, who stayed nearly twice as many seasons (15) as Pitino (eight) at UK, leads his coaching rival in total victories (410 to 219) as well as Final Four appearances (four to three). Pitino and Calipari won one national title with the program.

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Had Pitino not departed Lexington for the NBA in 1997, he undoubtedly would have added to his sterling legacy with the Wildcats. Instead, he returned to the college game in 2001 — at Kentucky‘s in-state rival Louisville, no less.

Pitino and the Cardinals clashed with Calipari’s Cats 10 times (UK held an 8-2 edge in those bouts) before the former’s tenure came to an end in 2017. Kentucky has won two-thirds of its games against Pitino (12 of 18) as the opposing coach.

Now, with Pitino guiding St. John’s and preparing to face UK — led by one of the captains of his national-title-winning 1995-96 squad, Mark Pope — on Dec. 20 in this year’s CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, we look back at the most memorable matchups between the Wildcats and their legendary ex-coach:

Kentucky basketball history vs. Rick Pitino

Memorable games

Dec. 21, 2016: Louisville 73, Kentucky 70

Synopsis: No one could have known at the time. But this was to be the last Battle of the Bluegrass with Pitino in charge of Louisville. He was dismissed less than 10 months later amid a recruiting scandal. But what a game this was. Ten ties. Nine lead changes. And an unlikely hero for UofL: Quentin Snider. In his two previous meetings with UK, he didn’t score a point. In this victory, which snapped a four-game skid in the series for the Cards, he exploded for a career-high 22 points, helping the hosts fend off the Cats.

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Dec. 29, 2012: Louisville 80, Kentucky 77

Synopsis: After Calipari assumed the reins in Lexington ahead of the 2009-10 season, he immediately changed Kentucky’s fortunes against Louisville. Prior to his arrival, the Cardinals had won back-to-back games over the Wildcats and four of seven dating to 2002. Calipari won his first four games as UK’s coach versus Louisville. That’s why this contest meant so much for Pitino’s program. It ended the four-game slide in the in-state rivalry — and occurred in the same season the Cardinals won their third national title (which has since been vacated, though calls remain to return the championship banner to the rafters of the KFC Yum! Center). UofL held on for a three-point win at home behind a trio of double-digit scorers: Russ Smith (21), Chane Behanan (20) and Peyton Siva (19). It also was a day Gorgui Dieng never will forget — not as much for his play as for what occurred off the court. He scored six points and pulled down seven rebounds (tied for the team high). More importantly, his parents, Momar Dieng and Seynabou Diagne, sat only six rows behind Louisville’s bench, the first time they watched their son in person in a college basketball game.

March 31, 2012: Kentucky 69, Louisville 61

Synopsis: Without question, this was the biggest game in the history of the UK/UofL rivalry. It’s the only time they’ve met on the grandest stage in the sport. It was the second time Pitino and Calipari squared off in the Final Four. Pitino’s Cats downed Calipari’s Minutemen, 81-74, on March 30, 1996; UK went on to win it all. Calipari avenged that loss almost 16 years to the day. UK’s superstar forward, Anthony Davis, tortured UofL on this New Orleans night, posting a double-double (a game-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbing 14 rebounds, another game high) to go along with five blocks. UofL outrebounded UK, 40-33; that included a 19-6 advantage in offensive boards. But the Wildcats were simply too tough, leading by as many as 13 in the second half. The Cards didn’t go down quietly, however, ripping off a 15-3 run to knot the game at 49 with 9:11 remaining. Kentucky made more plays down the stretch, though, advancing to the national title game for the first time since its previous championship in 1998.

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Jan. 2, 2010: Kentucky 71, Louisville 62

Synopsis: Pitino and Calipari already had faced each other 13 times as college coaches — five times when Pitino was at UK while Calipari led UMass, then eight more meetings when Pitino took over at UofL while Calipari guided Memphis. Not to mention six tussles when they were NBA coaches (Pitino with Boston and Calipari with New Jersey). But this contest marked their first time on opposing sidelines in the Bluegrass State’s marquee series. To say it was intense was an understatement. The teams combined for five technical fouls. It also was sloppy: The squads combined for 37 turnovers. Freshman big man DeMarcus Cousins came up big for Kentucky: 18 points, 18 rebounds. Both game highs. Teammates Patrick Patterson and John Wall had 17 points apiece to help the Wildcats improve to 15-0.

Dec. 29, 2001: Kentucky 82, Louisville 62

Synopsis: This one speaks for itself. Recalling this game, Pitino earlier this year said it was “the toughest day of my coaching career” with the Cardinals. “I had to walk into Rupp Arena (for the first time with UofL). I tried not to show it,” he said, referring to the scorn the home crowd showered upon him. That was about as memorable as the game got. Though the Cardinals trailed by only four points (36-32) at the break, the Wildcats dominated the second half en route to a 20-point win.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball game St. John’s, UK history versus Rick Pitino