Rick Pitino offers to play Kentucky after UK’s canceled game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Rick Pitino is in his 2nd year as the head coach at Iona. The Gaels have seen instant success on the court, winning the MAAC and advancing to the NCAA Tournament while playing an abbreviated schedule in the 2020-21 season. This year, the team is off to a hot start, currently sitting at 9-2 with a big win over Alabama, who knocked the Gaels out of the Big Dance last year.
Iona was slated to play No. 16 Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, but the game was called off due to COVID issues within the Pirates’ roster. That left the Gaels scrambling to find a last-minute replacement.
And Pitino knew just the program, one he’s more than familiar with.
.@KentuckyMBB if you need an opponent Saturday, we travel ?
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) December 16, 2021
Kentucky, for its part, had an open date of its own to fill as Ohio State was forced out of the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas due to COVID issues within Chris Holtmann’s program. The Wildcats left for Las Vegas on Thursday without a replacement named, but according to reports, both UNLV and North Carolina are possibilities. Wildcats insider Tres Terrell is reporting that the Tar Heels will be the team.
While it looks like Iona won’t play Kentucky, it would have made for a very entertaining matchup between Pitino and the program he once coached and later faced regularly while on the Louisville sidelines.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
