In the competitive world of Big East basketball, a new rivalry is heating up. St. John’s, led by coach Rick Pitino, has surged to the forefront, surprisingly being named the favorite to win the 2025-2026 conference title in the latest Preseason Coaches’ Poll. This comes after Pitino guided the Red Storm to a stunning sweep of both the regular season and tournament championships last year, upsetting the established order.
Now, UConn coach Dan Hurley, whose Huskies were stopped short of a championship repeat, finds himself in the unfamiliar position of chasing the top spot, setting the stage for a tense battle for conference supremacy.
Why Does Dan Hurley Feel Tension With Rick Pitino?
With the stakes in the Big East raised, both coaches spent the summer reloading their rosters for the upcoming fight. Hurley went on a strategic recruitment spree, adding Malachi Smith from Dayton and Silas Demary Jr. from Georgia via the transfer portal. He also returns a core group of talent, including Solo Ball, Tarris Reed Jr., Jaylin Stewart, and Alex Karaban.
Meanwhile, Pitino retooled his championship roster by bringing in Bryce Hopkins from Providence and Ian Jackson from North Carolina, while returning key player Zuby Ejiofor. This arms race has only intensified the rivalry.
During an interview with NBC Sports analyst John Fanta, Hurley opened up about the tension between himself and Pitino, which stems from their programs competing for dominance in the Big East and on the national stage.
“I think it’s very hard, I think when you’re both competing for the same thing and you’re both at a very high level and you’ve got a regional rivalry,” Dan Hurley said. “We played them in the NCAA Tournament when he was at Iona and next year at St. John’s. The rivalry there starts and we go back-to-back and we’re both fighting for the same things.”
“So, there’s tension,” he continued. “I would say it’s just starting in terms of both programs being in contention potentially for the national championship, for Final Fours. That’s when a rivalry is really gonna take off. It can’t be a rivalry if one program is winning national championships and going to the Final Four and is dominant and the other program had been struggling for a long time like St. John’s.”
Does Rick Pitino See UConn as a Special Rival?
However, Pitino doesn’t seem to view the situation the same way. After sweeping Hurley in last season’s series, the St. John’s coach downplayed the idea of a special rivalry with UConn during the Big East media days.
“I don’t consider Connecticut any more of a rival than Villanova or Providence or Marquette or Creighton or any of them,” Pitino said. “I think their fan base makes them very special, because they travel bigger than anyone else. That being said, we’ve got great respect for them.”
The debate will soon move from press conferences to the hardwood. Hurley and Pitino’s teams are set to clash on February 6 at Madison Square Garden, with a rematch scheduled for February 25 at People’s Bank Arena in Hartford.
