Arkansas, Calipari embrace underdog role for Sweet 16 game vs. Texas Tech
John Calipari is up to his old tricks again.
Leaving Kentucky after 15 seasons last April and resurfacing at Arkansas didn’t look like such a good idea when Calipari rebuilt a depleted roster and then promptly started 0-5 in the rugged Southeastern Conference.
Yet the Razorbacks, at 22-13, are probably the biggest surprise among the 16 teams that remain alive in the men’s NCAA Tournament. They’re the lowest-seeded team still playing at No. 10 after upset wins in the first two rounds over No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. John’s.
Arkansas will be the underdog again when it faces No. 3 seed Texas Tech (27-8) Thursday night at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:09 p.m., with No. 1 Florida (32-4) playing No. 4 Maryland (27-8) in the first game at 4:39 p.m.
“It’s going to be a real hard game for us,” Calipari told reporters Thursday. “But you know what? My kids, they’ve come through the fire. And my guess is, other than fans from Arkansas, no one is picking us to win. But the great news is, in the tournament, you’ve got to play these games. And so we’ll see.”
Should Arkansas win twice and advance to the Final Four, Calipari, 66, would be the first coach to lead four different teams to that stage, having done it at UMass (1996), Memphis (2008) and Kentucky (national champions in 2012).
At Memphis and Kentucky, Calipari earned the reputation for playing freshmen right away and frequently watching them leave for the NBA after a single season. Not surprisingly, in the Razorbacks’ win over St. John’s, freshmen Karter Knox, Boogie Fland and Billy Richmond III combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds.
Calipari left Kentucky because he felt the program needed a “new voice,” and the Wildcats hadn’t advanced past the second round since 2019 and had some ignominious losses to 15th-seeded St. Peter’s in 2021 and 14th-seeded Oakland last season in Las Vegas.
Arkansas was 16-17 under Eric Musselman last season before Calipari arrived for a quick rebuild that included three Kentucky transfers in leading scorer Adou Thiero, center Zvonimir Ivisic and guard D.J. Wagner. All the freshmen who stood out against St. John’s were Kentucky recruits.
With a record of 12-3 in Sweet 16 games and 59-22 in the NCAA Tournament, Calipari knows the terrain and isn’t changing his approach.
“I want this to be like regular season and nothing has changed,” Calipari said. “The board hasn’t changed. What we do, our shootarounds don’t change. Everything is the same so I want them to feel comfortable that this is no different.”
As the Razorbacks battled injuries and themselves before coming together, Calipari said players came to his office in tears.
“The only people that know what we went through is us. The only people that know the individuals and what they had to go through is us,” Calipari said. “Every player on this team has had to overcome something. They have been through so much. There’s one guy, I’m just happy is smiling. I looked at him for two weeks, trying to tell him, it’s not life and death. Because if you play that way, you die a lot.”
Jonas Aidoo, a 6-foot-11 senior forward, loved the way his teammates stuck together.
“Nobody thought we would be where we are right now, starting 0-5 in conference play,” Aidoo said. “Just the way we responded as a whole team, whole program. I feel like another team could have really done what we went through and responded and bounced back the way we did.”
Considering the way things started, the 2024-25 Razorbacks are one of Calipari’s favorite teams.
“The rewarding thing for a coach is seeing your kids smile and being able to say, ‘I believe in you and there’s nothing you can do that disappoints me,” Calipari said. “So just go play. I don’t even have to say that anymore. That’s a big change from where we were.”
Arkansas has responded to Calipari’s style, which can come off as blunt and abrasive.
“The fire in him, he wants to best for us and he wants us to win in every moment,” Wagner said. “So every time you look over there, you see him screaming or going crazy, and it’s really out of love because he cares for us and he wants us to win so bad. I feel like he deserves everything. He’s an amazing coach. He’s a legend.”