Oct 11, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Former Kentucky Wildcats head coach and current St. John's head coach Rick Pitino is introduced during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Jon Rothstein made a bold prediction about Kentucky's matchup with St. John's

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 12:10 PM ET

Both Rick Pitino and Mark Pope have teams that are good enough to win a National Title this season. Obviously, as all of Big Blue Nation knows, Coach Pope was the captain of the 1996 National Title team that won it all with Coach Pitino leading the program.

Now Kentucky is set to face off with St John's and Coach Pitino for the first time since he is the coach of the Red Storm. While there are obviously a lot of exciting narratives around this basketball game, it is going to be an exciting game played between two of the best teams in the nation.

Jon Rothstein posted a video where he discussed how this is the most highly anticipated game in non-conference play among all of college hoops.

Here is what Rothstein had to say about the Wildcats' matchup with the Red Storm and Coach Pitino, "This isn't just teacher against student. It's also going to be a very difficult game for St. John's because of the way Kentucky fans travel."

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

While St. John's will likely have some fans travel for this game because of the exciting matchup, this game is in Atlanta, better known as CATlanta because of the number of Kentucky fans that make the trip.

This environment should have a home feel for Kentucky, as Big Blue Nation will have a lot of fans in attendance.

The other positive for Kentucky is that there is a real shot that Jayden Quaintance is back on the floor for this game. The Arizona State transfer is rehabbing his ACL tear, and the hope is to have him back in mid to early December. With this game being on December 20th, the Wildcats could see their all-world center on the floor.

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This game is going to be a great resume builder, so both teams are really going to want to head home from Atlanta with the win. Coach Pitino is always known for his awesome suits, so Coach Pope has made it clear that he is going to make sure that he wins the suit matchup in this game.

It is going to be a great game because of all the talent on the floor, but the narrative surrounding this basketball game will make it the most exciting game of the non-conference slate. Coach Pope really wants to take down Coach Pitino, and it is safe to say the coaching legend Pitino feels the same way.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: