They're the head coaches of the top-two teams in the Big East and have now split their one-on-one series with each other this season. But is the coaching rivalry between UConn's Dan Hurley and St. John's' Rick Pitino the best in college hoops right now?
Jay Williams certainly thinks so.
Appearing on Thursday's edition of First Take, the basketball star turned ESPN analyst stated point-blank that Hurley vs. Pitino is the biggest coaching rivalry in the game. He said that between Hurley's wild and crazy passion and Pitino's notoriously buttoned-up personality, the two coaches always bring excitement to the game.
“Dan Hurley and Rick Pitino is the biggest coaching rivalry we have in basketball right now,” Williams said, via On3. “I don’t know what other rivalries we have in the NBA, but I will tell you, Dan Hurley is one of the craziest coaches you’ll ever meet. He’s so passionate about it. You already know Coach Pitino. So, the fact that these two collided.
“Now, here’s my thing. They usually call Madison Square Garden, I think, Storrs South, right? Because they usually sell out Madison Square Garden. Now, last time they played this year, St. John’s won, and Rick Pitino went to the newspaper saying, ‘Oh, I think that was about 80, 90% red tonight.’ Like, ‘Oh, we took over the Garden again.’ I think that’s why Dan Hurley wanted to smack them at UConn.”
Cream of the Big East Crop
Wednesday' night saw Pitino's Red Storm lose on the road at UConn 72-40 in a game that Pitino called one of the worst of his career. Just 19 days prior, his team had upset the then No. 3 Huskies for one of their biggest wins of his tenure.
But last night's loss snapped a 13-game winning streak and has fans understandably nervous as March approaches.
Rick Pitino speaks to the media for one minute in the hallway following St. John's 72-40 loss to UConn 😳
"That's probably only happened to me 2 times in my career… It's all on me. This is all on me."pic.twitter.com/tnCpbUA33l
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 26, 2026
UConn have just two games left and should secure the coveted top seed in the Big East tournament if they win out. At this point it's hard to envision them entering the NCAA Tournament worse than a 2-seed.
As for St. John's, the UConn loss could wind up dropping them outside of the top-four seeds unless they win out and take down the Huskies in the Big East tournament.
One thing fans can't wait to see is the two of them colliding for a third time in March – and possibly even a fourth time in April.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.