Coach vs. Captain: Mark Pope and Rick Pitino will face off in the CBS Sports Classic

When Mark Pope took the job as the head coach of the Kentucky basketball program, all of Big Blue Nation wanted him to schedule a game against St. John's.

The head coach of the Red Storm happens to be former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who led the Wildcats to win the 1996 National Championship. The captain of the 1996 team that won the title was Mark Pope.

Both Pope and Pitino are very close to this day and Coach Pitino actually came out to support Coach Pope at his first Big Blue Madness.

Well, now Big Blue Nation will be getting their wish as UCLA has backed out of the CBS Sports Classic, and St. John's will take over their spot, according to David Berov, meaning the Cats and Red Storm are set to meet in Atlanta, better known as "Catlanta."

While the narratives around this game will create a ton of excitement, the game itself should be electric, as these two teams should both be ranked inside the top ten to start the season.

This will be one of the most highly anticipated basketball games in a very long time that should lead to Kentucky fans flooding to Atlanta.

This game is going to be a resume builder for both programs early into the 2025-26 season and could be a Final Four type of matchup.

While Coach Pope and Pitino are both very close friends, there is no doubt that both of them really want to win this basketball game, as once the lights turn on, they are elite competitors.