The Big East will have a Pitino family rivalry next season. Richard Pitino, son of legendary coach Rick Pitino, is taking over the helm at Xavier, setting the stage for a compelling father-son showdown in one of college basketball’s most competitive conferences.
Xavier announced Tuesday night that Richard Pitino would be its next head basketball coach, just a day after Sean Miller departed for Texas. Pitino makes the move after a successful four-year tenure at New Mexico, where he led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 27-8 finish this season before falling to Michigan State in the second round.
“Xavier is one of the great brands in all of college basketball,” Pitino said in a statement. “It has always been a dream of mine to coach in the Big East. The Cintas Center is going to be rocking. I can’t wait to get to work.”
The 42-year-old Pitino, named Mountain West Coach of the Year this season, revitalized the New Mexico program, posting an 88-49 record and securing its first consecutive NCAA Tournament berths in over a decade. His coaching pedigree includes stints at Florida International and Minnesota, along with experience as an assistant under Rick Pitino at Louisville and Billy Donovan at Florida.
Xavier moved quickly to secure Pitino after former coach Chris Mack decided to remain at the College of Charleston, passing on a potential return to the Musketeers. Had Mack come back, it would have marked the second time he followed Miller at Xavier.
For Pitino, the transition from New Mexico to Xavier marks another step in his evolution as a head coach. After an up-and-down tenure at Minnesota, he rebuilt his reputation in Albuquerque, where he guided the Lobos to a tournament win over Marquette before their season ended against Michigan State.
Lobos Fall to Michigan State in NCAA Second Round
The New Mexico men’s basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 71-63 loss to No. 2 seed Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Rocket Arena. The Lobos (27-8) capped off a historic season that included winning the Mountain West regular-season title and securing their first NCAA Tournament victory in over a decade. Meanwhile, the Spartans (29-6) advanced to the Sweet 16 in Atlanta.
Nelly Junior Joseph led the Lobos with 16 points, while Donovan Dent and Mustapha Amzil each contributed 14 points.
New Mexico started strong, opening the game on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes and extending the lead to 10-2 with 16:00 left in the first half. The teams exchanged baskets, and the Lobos maintained a 16-11 lead with 13:20 remaining. UNM extended its advantage to 24-14 at the 9:00 mark and held a 29-20 lead with 4:30 left before Michigan State responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 29-28 with 1:30 left. The Lobos took a 31-29 lead into halftime, with Amzil leading the way with 12 first-half points.
The Spartans took their first lead of the game early in the second half, scoring six straight points for a 35-31 advantage with 17:10 left. The Lobos fought back to reclaim a 39-37 lead with 14:45 to play, but a 7-0 Michigan State run gave the Spartans a 44-39 lead at the 13:10 mark. The Lobos tied the game at 51-51 with 7:30 remaining, but Michigan State surged ahead with another 7-0 run, taking a 58-51 lead with 6:00 left. The Spartans held a 63-54 lead with 4:15 to go, and though New Mexico managed to cut the deficit to five in the closing minutes, Michigan State secured the win.
LOBO NOTES
- The Lobos reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
- UNM’s 27 wins this season are tied for the fifth-most in program history.
- Donovan Dent became the 17th player in NCAA history to record 700 points and 220 assists in a season, marking a first in Mountain West history and the first nationally since Cassius Winston (Michigan State) and Ja Morant (Murray State) in 2018-19.
- Dent finished the season with 715 points (fourth-most in UNM history) and 224 assists (second-most in UNM history).
- Dent extended his double-figure scoring streak to 35 games, the seventh-longest streak in UNM history.
- Nelly Junior Joseph finished the season with 385 rebounds, the second-most in a single season in UNM history, just three shy of Drew Gordon’s 388-rebound record set in 2011-12.
QUOTABLE
“I sit up here extremely proud but certainly disappointed that we didn’t get the win. We did so many great things all year. To win a title back-to-back years, to go back to the NCAA Tournament, to reach the round of 32 – we don’t do that without these guys. Michigan State is a terrific team, physical and tough. The foul trouble for us was very, very difficult. They had 19 points to our five from the free-throw line. But give them credit; it’s a championship program. It’s a program that we’re trying to build towards. But I am very, very grateful for those guys in the locker room, our fans. It was a special, special season. It never ends well, only for one team, but really, really proud of everybody.” – Richard Pitino
Lobos Advance with 75-66 Win Over Marquette in NCAA First Round
The New Mexico men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 75-66 victory over Marquette on Friday night at Rocket Arena. The Lobos (27-7) used a late 10-0 run to take control of the game and secured their first NCAA Tournament win in 13 years, defeating the Golden Eagles (23-11).
Donovan Dent led the way for the Lobos with 21 points and six assists, while Nelly Junior Joseph added 19 points. Tru Washington scored 12 points, and CJ Noland provided a key boost off the bench with 11 points.
New Mexico started strong, taking a 7-3 lead in the opening four minutes and extending the margin to 14-6 at the 14:15 mark. The Lobos held a 19-15 lead midway through the first half, but a 6-0 Marquette run trimmed the gap to 19-18 with 9:00 left. A 7-0 New Mexico run extended the lead to 26-18 with 6:00 to go, though Marquette fought back to make it 28-25 with 2:45 left. The Lobos entered halftime with a slim 35-32 lead, as CJ Noland paced the team with nine first-half points.
The Lobos maintained their lead early in the second half, holding a 43-40 edge after the first four minutes. However, Marquette took a 47-46 lead at the 13:40 mark and extended it to 51-48 with 12:25 remaining. New Mexico responded with five straight points to go up 53-51 at the 10-minute mark. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes, with Marquette leading 58-57 with 6:30 left. But the Lobos took over from there, using a decisive 10-0 run to seize a 67-58 advantage with 3:10 left. New Mexico held a 70-61 lead with 1:20 to play and closed out the nine-point victory at the free-throw line.
LOBO NOTES
- New Mexico secured its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012, when the Lobos defeated Long Beach State 75-68 in the first round.
- The nine-point victory marked UNM’s second-largest NCAA Tournament win, behind only a 79-62 first-round triumph over Butler in 1998.
- The Lobos earned their first-ever win over a Big East team in the NCAA Tournament, having previously been 0-5.
- Dent had his seventh consecutive 20-point, 5-assist game – the longest such streak in the nation in over two years.
- Dent became just the fourth Lobo to score 700 points in a season, joining Kenny Page (784 in 1979-80), Ruben Douglas (783 in 2002-03), and Hunter Greene (740 in 1986-87).
- Joseph finished with 378 rebounds, moving into second place on UNM’s single-season rebound list, just 10 shy of Drew Gordon’s record of 388.
- Washington became the eighth Lobo to record 70 steals in a season.
QUOTABLE
“Terrific win for our program. We have a lot of respect for Marquette. Shaka [Smart] does an amazing job. I just thought at the end of the game, we buckled down and got stops. We stopped turning the ball over. Donny really — he was struggling a little bit, and we just tried to keep him positive, and he made some huge plays down the stretch. Tru was phenomenal. Mustapha had some big rebounds. It was just a team effort all around. Very grateful, very proud. We’ll get a little rest and get back at it tomorrow.” – Richard Pitino
Portal Season
In the short time since their season ended, the Lobos are already looking to backfill some losses. Already, the program has seen Donovan Dent and Tru Washington enter the portal. Rumors abound that Dent will follow Pitino to Xavier for next season, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
The Lobos will also be without Quinton Webb and Shane Douma-Sanchez, who both entered the portal as well.
There is also speculation about Nelly Junior Joseph and where he will end up next year.