PROVIDENCE, R.I. – You could feel the buzz inside Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday. This was not a typical media day ahead of first round games at the NCAA Tournament, with several national media outlets on hand, cameras everywhere, and plenty of anticipation for the figures that were walking into the interview room.

When Purdue’s Matt Painter holds the fourth-most wins on the list of head coaches at an NCAA Tournament site, that should tell you all you need to know. 

Rick Pitino. John Calipari. Bill Self. 

All three legendary coaches aren’t just in Providence. They happen to be in the same pod in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That’s a combined 2,593 victories, 103 years of head coaching experience, five national championships, 17 trips to the Final Four and countless trophies.

When Self’s Jayhawks and Calipari’s Razorbacks square off at 7:10 pm ET Thursday in a West Region first round 7 vs. 10 matchup, it will mark their third-ever meeting in the NCAA Tournament. The previous two? The 2008 national championship game, won by Mario Chalmers and Kansas, and the 2012 national title game, where Doron Lamb and the Wildcats won to give Calipari redemption. 

Obviously, this encounter is not at the level of those, but that shouldn’t take away from what should be a thrilling matchup. The Jayhawks entered the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls, but Self’s group struggled with a disappointing 11-9 mark in Big 12 play and a transfer portal class that has not panned out to the level of expectations in Lawrence. 

On the flip side, Arkansas started 0-5 in the SEC and was looking like it would miss the NCAA Tournament. However, Calipari’s team navigated a season mired by injuries to win five of its seven games leading up to the Big Dance.

The winner of the Self vs. Calipari showdown will likely meet Pitino, whose season has been quite the opposite of those fellow legends, charging St. John’s to its first outright Big East regular-season championship since 1985, the year Lou Carnesecca took the Johnnies to the Final Four. Pitino’s St. John’s team also won the Big East Conference tournament for the first time in a quarter-century, powered by the nation’s top defense.

All three of them brought a different vantage point to the table on Wednesday, with both Calipari and Self stating they thought this matchup might happen. 

“I kind of predicted it. I predicted to my team in practice,” said Calipari, who will be seeking just his second NCAA Tournament win since taking Kentucky to the Sweet 16 in 2019. “The team was like ‘how?’ It’s because I’ve done this! But playing someone I have respect for in this is hard. Both of us are trying to beat each other’s brains in. Then you feel bad and then you move on thinking about the next game.” 

While it wasn’t the regular season that he hoped for, Calipari said that grinding it out to make the Big Dance was refreshing in a sense because of how hard his team fought during the most important time of year. However, Calipari didn’t hold back on Wednesday when asked about his emotions during the Selection Sunday show.

“Do you want me to tell you exactly?” Calipari asked. “It came down to the last four teams and we weren’t in yet. I’m like, ‘could they possibly do that when four teams that got in were below us in the SEC? They can’t do it. Can they do it?’ And we got in. Then I started breathing. I still haven’t thought of all the other drama to this.”

That “drama” includes the fact that Pitino, who was at Kentucky from 1989-97, and Calipari, who was in Lexington from 2009-24 and met him in Louisville vs. Kentucky rivalry games for eight years, became bitter rivals and went at each other through some legendary seasons in the Bluegrass Rivalry. 

Self is hoping that could help his Jayhawks, who are typically the team in the spotlight heading into the NCAA Tournament. 

“I don’t look at it quite as deep as some other people do,” Self said when asked about playing Caliapri and the Razorbacks. “I said a week ago that it was going to be Arkansas. I said, ‘you watch, we’re going to play Arkansas.’

“I didn’t have any idea who the 2-seed would be, but I think it’s fine for us. I would think, and I don’t know positively, there will be a little storyline with Kansas and Arkansas, but the potential of a Calipari-Pitino second-round game may put Kansas in a favorable light, to be honest with you. We’ve been talked about enough over the years and over time. I’m kind of looking forward to having people talk about others, and maybe we can kind of sneak up on somebody.” 

The matchup between the Jayhawks and Razorbacks pits two teams that sit in the top-20 on the KenPom defensive efficiency charts against one another. 

The Hogs could use a big-time performance from NCAA Tournament great Johnell Davis, who helped lead Florida Atlantic to the Final Four two years ago, along with senior Trevon Brazile, who has totaled at least 15 points and 11 rebounds in three of his last four games. 

As for who needs to step up for the Jayhawks, Self didn’t waste any time when stating his answer.

“We need Hunter Dickinson to play a big-time game,” Self said. “When he plays well, everything else comes into place.”

The 7-foot-2 senior transferred from Michigan to Kansas to pursue a national championship. While he’s averaged 17.6 points and 10 rebounds per game on 53% shooting from the floor, this season was never about accumulating numbers. For Dickinson’s legacy at Kansas, it’s now-or-never. 

These two teams met in a charity exhibition back in October, one that the Razorbacks took over a shorthanded Jayhawks team at the time, 85-69.

“Well, they dominated us in the exhibition,” Self said. “Hunter [Dickinson] didn’t play. Rylan [Griffen] didn’t play. Shakeel [Moore] didn’t play. If I’m not mistaken, Jonas Aidoo didn’t play for them. Nelly [Davis] was not quite healthy yet, even though he played. They present a lot of challenges because they’re athletic and they’re shooting the ball more consistently now, and they’ve shown that when they’re good, they’re as good as anybody.” 

While the back-and-forth between Calipari and Self was happening, with Self putting it out there that Arkansas could be distracted, Pitino wouldn’t admit to a rivalry with Coach Cal. 

“There’s only one coach I have considered a rival in my whole career, and I have been blessed to coach against Frank McGuire in his last game, while also coaching against Dean Smith,” said Pitino when asked about his first NCAA Tournament game back in 1983 while at Boston University. “The only one I had a strong rivalry with, and today I respect him as much as anybody in the game was Jim Calhoun. We hated each other at BU and Northeastern … hated each other. And there were 300 people in each arena. 

“He goes on to coach at Connecticut. I go on to coach at Providence, and we hated each other there as well. Today, I don’t think I respect any coach as much as Jim Calhoun. Looking back, it was funny at that stage of BU versus Northeastern.”

While Calipari mentioned him when describing St. John, not naming his rival by name or the team, Pitino deflected when asked about the drama surrounding this four-team pod in the West Region. 

“It really doesn’t matter. They’re great coaches, but I’m just concerned about Omaha because this team is … their point guard will be a top-four point guard in the Big East,” said Pitino of the 15th-seeded Mavericks, who are 18-3 in their last 21 games, won the Summit League, and have made headlines for their postgame garbage can antics. “They have the Player of the Year in the power forward spot. I’m just excited to be here regardless of who’s coaching. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m very concerned about the talent we’re facing.” 

Yes, the stage is set. It’s like a college coaches edition of the hit show “White Lotus” between the hotels in downtown Providence. We know one thing: There are big egos, and zero love lost. The potential for Saturday night is limitless. For now, it’s Self vs. Calipari on Thursday night.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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