- - Pitino vs. Pitino: History of father vs. son coaching in college basketball

Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAYJanuary 24, 2026 at 3:04 AM

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Does father really know best?

The history of college basketball matchups of fathers and sons coaching against one another has been heavily tilted toward the fathers in recent history.

Richard Pitino will try to change that when Xavier takes on Rick Pitino and St. John's at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 24, from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.

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This will be the fifth time the Pitinos have faced off against one another. Rick has a 3-1 record against his son, including the Red Storm's 85-71 win over Richard's New Mexico on Nov. 17, 2024.

Here's what you about fathers and sons coaching against each other in college basketball:

Father-son matchups in college basketball history

Overall, father-son coaching matchups have occurred 22 times before Saturday, with fathers posting a 19-3 record in that time.

Western Kentucky coach Ed Diddle faced off against his son, Middle Tennessee coach Ed Diddle Jr., 12 times between 1957 and 1962. Diddle Sr. got the better of Jr. in 11 of those 12 matches.

Outside of the Pitinos, the only other father-son coaching matchup since 2014 happened between Tubby Smith and G.G. Smith. The father and son faced off in 2014 and 2017, with Tubby earning wins with Texas Tech and Memphis over Loyola-Maryland.

Jan. 30, 1957: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 79-72

Feb. 20, 1957: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 86-82

Jan. 23, 1958: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 69-67

Feb. 18, 1958: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Middle Tennessee 81-75

Jan. 19, 1959: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 89-65

Feb. 28, 1959: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 110-85

Feb. 6, 1960: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 109-89

Feb. 27, 1960: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 109-80

Dec. 1, 1960: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 70-67

Feb. 25, 1961: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 84-73

Jan. 20, 1962: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 89-69

Feb. 10, 1962: E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky) vs. Ed Diddle Jr. (Middle Tennessee) | Western Kentucky 87-81

Dec. 1, 1981: Ray Meyer (DePaul) vs. Tom Meyer (Illinois-Chicago) | DePaul 78-53

Jan. 6, 1994: Butch van Breda Kolff (Cornell) vs. Jan van Breda Kolff (Hofstra) | Hofstra 70-56

Nov. 26, 1994: Hugh Durham (Georgia) vs. Doug Durham (Georgia Southern) | Georgia 87-57

Nov. 17, 2000: Nolan Richardson (Arkansas) vs. Nolan Richardson II (Tennessee State) | Arkansas 90-68

Dec. 19, 2012: Rick Pitino (Louisville) vs. Richard Pitino (FIU) | Louisville 79-65

Nov. 14, 2014: Rick Pitino (Louisville) vs. Richard Pitino (Minnesota) | Louisville 79-55

Nov. 14, 2014: Tubby Smith (Texas Tech) vs. G.G. Smith (Loyola-Maryland) | Texas Tech 71-59

Dec. 23, 2017: Tubby Smith (Memphis) vs. G.G. Smith (Loyola-Maryland) | Memphis 83-71

Dec. 18, 2022: Rick Pitino (Iona) vs. Richard Pitino (New Mexico) | New Mexico 82-74

Nov. 17, 2024: Rick Pitino (St. John's) vs. Richard Pitino (New Mexico) | St. John's 85-71

Jan. 23, 2026: Rick Pitino (St. John's) vs. Richard Pitino (Xavier) | 1:30 p.m. ET

Rick Pitino vs. Richard Pitino record

Rick is 3-1 all-time against his offspring. Here's a look at their previous matchups:

Dec. 19, 2012: Rick Pitino (Louisville) vs. Richard Pitino (FIU) | Louisville 79-65

Nov. 14, 2014: Rick Pitino (Louisville) vs. Richard Pitino (Minnesota) | Louisville 79-55

Dec. 18, 2022: Rick Pitino (Iona) vs. Richard Pitino (New Mexico) | New Mexico 82-74

Nov. 17, 2024: Rick Pitino (St. John's) vs. Richard Pitino (New Mexico) | St. John's 85-71

Jan. 23, 2026: Rick Pitino (St. John's) vs. Richard Pitino (Xavier) | 1:30 p.m. ET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: History of father vs son coaching in college basketball

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