A milestone win rarely comes with this kind of twist. After edging Seton Hall 65-60, Rick Pitino moved within one victory of a historic 900th career win. The catch is who stands in the way. That next opportunity comes against Xavier, coached by his son Richard, turning a personal moment into a compelling family showdown with history, pride, and competition all colliding on the same court.

“I think he will do everything humanely possible to stop it,” said coach Pitino about facing off against his son Richard’s team, the Xavier Musketeers, and also went further to add that his ‘boy’ won’t go easy on him.”Either way, we know we’re going to have a difficult game against them because of their style of play, because he is doing a fabulous job.” Came a father’s unfiltered praise for his son, who knows that he has work cut out for him at Cincinnati.

Richard’s stats show that he has won 258 games out of the 451 played and has a W-L % of.572. Pitino Jr. is also doing decent for the Xavier Musketeers and has a record of 11-7 this season, going 3-4 in the Big East conference.

Richard is also on a two-game winning streak with victories over Providence and Butler, so Rick Pitino isn’t the only one with momentum on his side. Moreover, Rick shared another anecdote of his son’s coaching style that caught attention during their days with the Louisville team as they entangled with Billy Donovan’s Florida.” Bill Donovan was kicking our asses during the match-up zone-wise, and Richard kept saying timeout to me Dad, get out of the match-up zone,” and that suggestion clicked. Richard’s ability to read the game during his early days in coaching changed the complexion of the game as the Cardinals nudged out (72-68) the Gators for a spot at the Final Four back in 2012.

This time around, the Pitinos are on the same team but on opposite ends, looking to outdo each other, but the senior Pitino just might have the X factor element in his team to take it all the way.

Dillon Mitchell Can Be Rick Pitino’s Trump Card Against the Musketeers

Keep an eye out for Dillon Mitchell, the senior who just made his way from Cincinnati to reinvigorate Rick Pitino’s Red Storms. The forward’s arrival has seen him marshal the offense and defense equally. Mitchell mostly played the earlier part of the season, coming off the bench, but now he is being used more as a game starter.

Since being named co-captain in October, Mitchell has not done a thing wrong. The last game against Seton Hall is a perfect example of what he was able to do. As Red Storm’s top player, Zuby Ejiofor had an off-day in scoring, but he took over the responsibility on his broad shoulders.

Dillon was the force that pushed the Red Storm to blow away their opposition as he made 17 points along with 11 rebounds, giving the Red Storm a huge lift on the boards. He didn’t shy away from helping out the defense either, as he nicked in two steals to dent the Pirates’ chances even further. But Dillon did not take the credit himself and thanked his teammates for their invaluable support.

“Just going out there and having confidence, playing with such skilled teammates,” Mitchell said, graciously acknowledging the efforts that made this possible. Cause after all, it was a team that persevered and got the win. Ruben Prey scored 4 points with 3 rebounds, even as he got manhandled under the hoops. Dylan Darling played as the primary guard almost the entire second half, so it was the amalgamation of all these factors that made this happen.

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Coach Rick Pitino has a very good team in his hands, and if he could polish his team a little bit more, especially when it comes to rebounding, where they looked a bit awkward collecting (27-41 against Seton Hall in the second half), the rest will invariably fall in line. So it’s Pitino vs. Pitino at the Cintas Center, where we don’t know who will win, but one thing’s for certain: the guy will be called Pitino.