ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – Richard Pitino and his UNM Lobos are set to host his father and Iona on Sunday. Hall of fame coach Rick Pitino met with the media on Saturday to give his thoughts on playing his son and New Mexico. While Iona obviously hopes to win on Sunday, Rick has made it clear who the rest of the country should be pulling for.
Rick Pitino comes to Pit for father-son coaching duel
“I tell everybody to pull for Richard,” Rick said. “I’ve won enough games. If we’re fortunate enough to win that’s okay, but everybody deep down, they’re feel sorry for me, but nobody is gonna shed a tear for me. So he’s better than me at the same stage, and I’m very proud of that. I hope he goes to final four after final four and I hope it’s at New Mexico I think this is a very special place.”
It will be a tough matchup for both sides, as Iona comes in with a 7-2 record, while UNM is one of five remaining unbeaten division I teams in the country. A large crowd is expected, as nearly 14,000 tickets have been sold as of Saturday night, as Rick knows the type of environment that he is bringing his team into.
“One of the premiere buildings in all of college basketball,” he said. “People coming in here non-conference wise, it’s difficult to win”
“So it should be a great crowd, I hope it’s a sellout,” Richard said. “It will be fun for our community for sure. More importantly than anything, it’s a great win opportunity for both teams.”
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