Rick Pitino, Bill Self make March Madness history in St. John's vs. Kansas

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Rick Pitino, Bill Self make March Madness history in St. John's vs. Kansas originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Star players, shining moments, and underdog stories usually run amok during March Madness. While many college basketball fans overlook coaching, it is the most crucial part of coming out at the top in the NCAA Tournament with a national championship. It is also not only players who can make history, even their head honchos can. Bill Self and Rick Pitino proved just that when the St. John's Red Storm faced the Kansas Jayhawks for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Pitino, Self etch legacies in March Madness history​

There have only been three times when two head coaches have who have won two or more titles faced off each other in March Madness. The first was when Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers faced Denny Crum's Louisville Cardinals during the 1993 Regional Semifinal. Crum would then face Dean Smith's legendary UNC Tar Heels in the 1997 Regional Final.

Now, Pitino and Self join that list in the second round of the 2026 March Madness tournament. Both of them are gunning for their third title as a college basketball head coach, via CBS Sports.

Notably, Pitino is the only head coach in NCAA history to have won the national championship for two schools. He first achieved it with the Kentucky Wildcats in 1996 then proceeded to guide the Louisville Cardinals to another shining moment back in 2013. If he is able to get past Self and Kansas, he can become the only head coach to lead three different squads to a national championship with St. John's.

Self, on the other hand, has been quite the opposite of Pitino. He has been coaching Kansas for 23 years. Since his stint started in 2003, they have won two national championships because of his leadership. He first won it all alongside great players like Cole Adrich, Mario Chalmers, and Brandon Rush among others in 2008. More recently, he got his second title with Kansas in 2022 through the help of March Madness legends Christian Braun, Remy Martin, Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji, and etc.

The coaching trajectories of these two coaches are very different. But, they still managed to set a crash course against each other for a Sweet 16 spot in March Madness.

More March Madness News:​

• Why Kevin Willard might look for new Villanova staff after March Madness exit​

• Labaron Philon Jr. unveils Alabama's March Madness keys to win vs. Hofstra​

• Duke, Maliq Brown come to rough March Madness realization vs. No. 16 Siena​

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