St. John's Red Storm Mike Vaccaro Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley’s chilly relationship adds even more juice to St. John’s-UConn rivalry By Mike Vaccaro Published Feb. 24, 2026, 8:25 p.m. ET St. John's head coach Rick Pitino Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Here’s the thing: something would be wrong, very wrong, if there weren’t a fair amount of tension between Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley.
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There has grown among college basketball fans a fascination with this relationship, and it feels like every time St. John’s and Connecticut play, all eyes are now lasered on the moment Pitino and Hurley replicate that wonderfully uncomfortable moment 32 years ago when it seemed Temple’s John Chaney was going to take a swing at UMass’ John Calipari in the press room.
(Chaney literally yelled the words “I’ll kill you!” at Cal that day. It hasn’t gotten THAT bad between Pitino and Hurley. Yet.)
