Future Hall of Fame coaches John Calipari and Bill Self are no strangers to competing against each other on college basketball's biggest stage. Self's Jayhawks got the better of Calipari, then the coach at Memphis, in the 2008 national championship game. But Calipari, pacing the sidelines for Kentucky, got some measure of revenge when his Wildcats defeated Self and Kansas in the '12 title game. The two will face off once again in a highly anticipated matchup on Thursday when Calipari's 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks take on Self's No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Yes, the two coaches are rivals. But they're also friendly and respect one another. Calipari, while speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, perfectly described the complex—and at times macabre—nature of the friendly competition the two legendary coaches have.
