Things are just going up for Pitino.
Following Pitinos, an upset victory over Marquette in New Mexico Became the first father and son duo Each wins the NCAA Tournament Game in the same year.
The 10th robot, which was helmed by Richard Pitino, defeated the 7th Golden Eagles, 75-66 on Friday, moving on to the second round of madness in March.
New Mexico's victory comes a day after Rick Pipino's St. John's team defeated Omaha in a comeback victory.
Richard followed his father's footsteps when it came to coaching college basketball and was a member of various coaching staff over the past 20 years.
Before taking over in New Mexico in 2021, Richard served as head coach for eight seasons at the University of Minnesota, leading the team in two NCAA tournament appearances and NIT Championships in 2013.
Despite the large number of father-son coaching duos throughout NCAA history, no one has led their respective teams to tournament victory in the same season.
Additionally, the Pitino family is currently the only father-son duo coaching in the NCAA.
Robo is set to face off against the second seed Michigan state on Sunday, with St. John's clashing with John Calipari-led Arkansas on Saturday.
Elder Pitino is a longtime coaching rival, and the two have fought on multiple occasions during the insanity of March.
Calipari defeated Rick in his final NCAA Tournament matchup when Kentucky won in Louisville in 2014's Sweet 16.
“I certainly have great respect for him, but we're not very close,” Rick told the Post. “It was just Kentucky Louisville and Louisville Manfis. We don't know each other's wife or children.
“We're not really close friends…I knew him well when he was in Coraopolis when he was in very young. [Pa.] Play in Moon Township. …I don't think we've ever been to dinner once in our lifetime. We are both Italian, we both love the game. ”
