Several fans praised the Pitino family on Friday at the expense of the ACC.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and his son Richard Pitino made March Madness history by becoming the first father-son head coaching duo to win an NCAA Tournament game in the same year with different schools.
The elder Pitino’s Red Storm throttled the Omaha Mavericks 83-53 in their 2-15 matchup at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Over 600 miles away, Richard led his 10th-seeded New Mexico Lobos to a 75-66 upset of Marquette at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
With both Pitinos getting past the first round, many fans on X pointed out that there will be more Pitinos in the next round than there will be teams from the ACC.
Teams left in the Tournament:
— Ben Chase (@BenGChase) March 22, 2025
Pitino’s: 2
ACC: 1 pic.twitter.com/wkLXTBZP35
There are more Pitinos left in the NCAA Tournament (2) than ACC teams (1).
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) March 22, 2025
I dont know whether to be impressed by the Pitinos or embarrassed for the ACC 🤦♂️🤦♂️ https://t.co/fMIAsdJOJD
There will be more members of the Pitino family coaching in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament than ACC teams.
— Kyle Boone (@kyletheboone) March 22, 2025
Four ACC teams — namely Duke, Clemson, Louisville, and North Carolina — earned a spot in this year’s NCAA Tournament. But only top-seeded Duke remains after the Blue Devils nearly doubled up Mount St. Mary’s in their 93-49 first-round matchup.
On Thursday, fifth-seeded Clemson got upset by 12th-seeded McNeese State in a 69-67 contest, while eighth-seeded Louisville was easily dispatched 89-75 by Big East Tournament runner-up Creighton.
North Carolina, which had its March Madness bid heavily scrutinized since Selection Sunday, fell 71-64 to Ole Miss.
The ACC’s 1-3 record in the first round meant that the conference would have just one representative in the round of 32 for the first time in 50 years.
Perhaps some of their teams should look into hiring a Pitino.
