Rick Pitino gets brutally honest about facing Kentucky

The No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm had just defeated the DePaul Demon Deacons at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y., on Tuesday for their third win in a row, but head coach Rick Pitino has a much bigger challenge ahead.

The Red Storm are scheduled for a marquee matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday for a CBS Sports Classic game at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

The Wildcats haven’t been playing like a blue-blood powerhouse in the 2025-26 college basketball season, but Pitino remains wary of his former team, which is now coached by Mark Pope, one of his former Kentucky players.

“Kentucky is very big,” the 73-year-old Pitino told reporters, via Zack Geoghegan of On3.

“They’re plus 10 on the glass. They rebound the ball great. They’re terrific on defense. It’ll be a hell of a game, it’ll be a tough game. We know that,” Pitino said when asked about the matchup. “When you go to Atlanta, they call it in Lexington: Catlanta.

They’ll have about six, seven thousand of their fans. It’ll be somewhat of a road game (for St. John’s). But that’s okay. We’re playing good defense right now. I think it’ll be a good basketball game.”

Like St. John’s, Kentucky is coming into this contest with some momentum, having won its last two games. The Wildcats defeated North Carolina Central Eagles on Dec. 6, 103-67, before taking down the Indiana Hoosiers, 72-60, on Saturday. Both of those games took place at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

The similarities between the two teams don’t end there. St. John’s and Kentucky are both stout defensively, ranking 15th and 16th on KenPom’s adjusted defensive rating, respectively. But they also vary so differently in terms of pace. While the Red Storm are 45th in the nation in adjusted tempo, the Wildcats are 149th.

In any case, this SEC matchup will have the attention of the college basketball world.