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Report: New Mexico Hires Richard Pitino as Head Coach

richard-pitino-minnesota

New Mexico has hired Richard Pitino as its next men's basketball head coach, according to CBS Sports's Jon Rothstein.

Pitino parted ways with Minnesota on Sunday night after eight years with the program. The Golden Gophers went 14-15 in 2020-21 as it finished 13th in the Big Ten. This year was Minnesota's second consecutive sub-.500 season.

Minnesota reached the NCAA tournament twice with Pitino, in 2017 and 2019, though it failed to win a tournament game in each of its appearances. Pitino exited Minnesota with a 141–123 record as well as the Big Ten Coach of the Year award in 2016-17.

New Mexico finished 11th in the Mountain West in 2020–21 at 6–16. The Lobos will enter 2021–22 seeking the program's first tournament appearance since 2014.

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