Count Rick Pitino in for a home-and-home between St. John’s and Kentucky.
New Wildcats head coach Mark Pope floated the idea during his introductory press conference on Sunday in Lexington and the Red Storm head coach wrote that St. John’s “accepts” the offer.
“[St.John’s men’s basketball] accepts, this year at UK, next year at the Mecca! Looking forward to saying goodbye to [Kentucky],” Pitino wrote on X replying to Pope.
The potential trip to Lexington and the Wildcats making the journey to Manhattan to play at Madison Square Garden stems from a comment Pope made as he officially took over the reins of Kentucky men’s basketball program.
“Anybody down for a game with St. John’s?” Pope asked the crowd on Sunday.
The fans erupted when the new Kentucky coach mentioned the idea.
Pitino coached the Wildcats from 1989 to 1997 and helped lead the program to a national title in 1996, a team on which Pope was the captain during his collegiate career.
“Coach Pitino changed me,” Pope said on Sunday. “And I will tell you, like, he changed me to my soul, changed my DNA as a human being. He allowed me to be someone who feels like they can walk into any room and take on any impossible task. And I will love him forever. So I say [let’s play] St. John’s because I have so much admiration for him. He is the best that did it.”
Getting more games to Madison Square Garden and away from Carnesecca Arena in Queens has been a priority for Pitino since he took over at St. John’s last year.
Playing a game against Kentucky at the Garden will surely fill up the seats.
The Red Storm played eight games at Madison Square Garden last season, along with three games at UBS Arena on Long Island and one at Barclays Center.