PROVIDENCE— Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Gucci loafers vs. sneakers. The native New Yorker back in his hometown against a quintessential carpetbagger making yet another stop on the coaching trail.

Two coaching giants of college basketball with complicated history are set to spar again at the NCAA Tournament.

Though they downplayed the animosity, the coaches also noted that they are not friends. Earlier in the week, Calipari waxed on about his relationship with Self, and how it’s hard to play against friends; Pitino did the same about coaches like former UConn coach Jim Calhoun who have been important to him.