As much as his Kentucky Wildcats enjoyed getting revenge over West Virginia — from last season's loss in the Elite Eight — coach John Calipari rather would have beaten somebody else Saturday afternoon.
Good friends like this — two successful but often embattled coaches — really don't like beating each other. The joy of victory isn't quite the same.
After going 1-8 lifetime against Bob Huggins, Calipari got his own redemption in the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 71-63 victory.
He was thrilled for his program. Yet there was some angst in his tone.
"You're back there in the locker room rejoicing, and then you start thinking 'What’s he doing now? What are his guys doing? How’s he feeling,'" Calipari said a few minutes after the game. "In a way you feel bad for him."
Huggins had not lost to Calipari since late in the 2002-03 season. He was at Cincinnati, Calipari was at Memphis. The Tigers stomped the visiting Bearcats in that one 67-48.
The next day, Huggins went on Calipari’s radio show as a guest and they chuckled together throughout the interview.
"Actually, I just walked in to make sure he didn't spin it the wrong way that time," Huggins said after Saturday’s game with his usual dry sense of humor.
When Cincinnati had beaten Memphis the previous year in overtime, the two went out to dinner after the game in Cincinnati.
"But yeah, it's harder this time of year because it's the finality of the whole thing," Huggins said. "Maybe it will be a little easier tomorrow knowing that he’s still playing. It doesn't help today."
Huggins, 57, and Calipari, 52, have grown tight over the years, sharing more than just a profession. Both are among the winningest coaches in college basketball today. Calipari came into this season ranked seventh in winning percentage (.756) with 438 victories. Huggins was 10th with 670 victories and a .735 winning percentage.
Yet neither have won the national title they both seek so aggressively, and both have been criticized routinely for their run-ins with the NCAA rules committee.
Each picked the other as the coach they most wanted to see win a championship if they couldn’t do it himself. Their embrace after the game Saturday was more than just the usual good-luck handshake. There was something more. You could see it from a distance. There was warmth.
"At least you know you feel a little bit better that somebody you like wins rather than some people you don't like," Huggins said. "Not that I don't like them — I like most guys — it's just I don't like them as much."
Huggins and West Virginia are the ones who derailed the heavily favored Wildcats last season, upsetting the No. 1 seed and a team with four future first-round draft picks playing. Huggins outcoached Calipari by surprising him with a 1-3-1 zone last spring that threw the Wildcats completely off stride.
"This time, I just wished him good luck and told him to go win the thing," Huggins said.
"That's why I wanted to hug him, and let him enjoy what I’ve enjoyed," Calipari joked. "One of the things about this profession, you hate to play against friends, because I know what it feels like to get beat. You want to play against people you don’t like. Beat them."
Calipari and Huggins have shared the bond for years. It was Calipari who was one of the first outside the family to be with Huggins after his heart attack back in 2002 in Pittsburgh.
The two talked about that episode Friday during an interview session with the media. It turned out that the paramedic who originally traded Huggins in Pittsburgh was related to Calipari.
"When I woke up, he (the paramedic) put his hand on my shoulder. He said, 'coach, I'm Cal's cousin ... We'’re not going to let you die until he beats you at least once,'" Huggins recalled. "I mean, I know I'm not doing very well."
At the time, Huggins was 5-0 against Calipari. It was the next season when Memphis beat Cincinnati.
The feeling Calipari felt Saturday is the same reason he rarely schedules a non-conference game against former assistants who are now head coaches. At least not the ones he liked.
"If they need the guarantee (money) game I will, but I don't really like to play against friends," Calipari said. "I mean I don't want to. I know what it’s like to lose. I know how he (Huggins) felt today."
