Long-time rivals Rick Pitino and John Calipari could face each other in the NCAA Tournament again if St. John's and Arkansas each reach the second round.

They could’ve figured a way to either drop Louisville to a No. 10 or push them to a No. 7, and thereby start a week of bile boiling in Louisville. Kentucky was bound for too high a seed to be so easily manipulated, but the committee wouldn’t have minded setting up a similar week of agitation in Lexington, too.

NEW YORK -- Rick Pitino and St. John’s learned the NCAA Tournament bracket on Selection Sunday. The Red Storm earned the No. 2 seed in the West Region and will open against No. 15 Omaha (22-12) in Providence on Thursday. If they advance, they would play the winner between No. 7 Kansas (21-12) and No. 10 Arkansas (20-13) on Saturday.

The St. John's Red Storm defeated the Creighton Bluejays for their first Big East tournament title since 2000 on Saturday night, and head coach Rick Pitino had an extremely hilarious answer regarding his postgame plans.

The No. 1 seed coming into the tournament played like it all week at Madison Square Garden, as coach Rick Pitino and his St. John's Red Storm secured their first Big East title since 2000, and will head into Selection Sunday on a nine-game winning streak.

They earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for their first trip since 2019, making 72-year-old Hall of Famer Rick Pitino the first coach to take six schools to the Big Dance.