Big East basketball is going to the next level with Xavier's hiring of Richard Pitino

The college basketball world is moving pretty fast with the transfer portal and coaches jumping ship while the NCAA Tournament is being played.

Coaches are losing games in the Big Dance, and not even 24 hours later, they have offers from other schools to lead different programs.

Richard Pitino's New Mexico Lobos were eliminated this past Sunday in the second round by the Michigan State Spartans.

Late this past Tuesday night, Pitino accepted the offer to be the new head coach of the Xavier Musketeers, who lost their former head coach, Sean Miller, shortly after the team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Breaking: Xavier is expected to hire New Mexico's Richard Pitino as its next head coach, sources confirmed to @jeffborzello and @PeteThamel.

Get breaking news alerts from Pete Thamel through the ESPN app: https://t.co/psHGSpxLxP pic.twitter.com/hXGFMyannp
— ESPN (@espn) March 26, 2025

The hiring of Pitino is especially intriguing to those who follow the Big East because his father, Rick Pitino, is the coach of the St. John's Red Storm.

Rick Pitino has made the trip to Cleveland to watch his son Richard Pitino.

Less than 24 hours after St. John's season came to an end, he is now in the stands rooting and supporting his son. pic.twitter.com/sbKUDVrqHJ
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 24, 2025

Both Pitino's saw their successful 2024 seasons end in the second round of the tournament. However, now all the attention has shifted to their inevitable matchup during conference play in 2025.

The elder Pitino ruled the Big East this season, winning the regular season and conference tournament crowns. Now, he will have to take down his son to do that in 2025, which probably sounds like fun for the Hall of Fame coach.

The Big East has long been a basketball conference. Now, business has picked up even more with the addition of another Pitino.

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