John Calipari Only Had One Thing to Say About a Very Bad Flagrant Foul Call vs. LSU

John Calipari makes his case to an official during Arkansas’ loss to LSU.
John Calipari makes his case to an official during Arkansas’ loss to LSU. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers beat the Arkansas Razorbacks 78-74 on Tuesday night. LSU took the lead for good with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second half and were immediately given breathing room as a very questionable flagrant foul was called on the very next Arkansas possession.

Junior forward Trevon Brazile ran out to the logo to set a screen for freshman guard Boogie Fland. Brazile leaned into the defender enough to knock him off balance and draw a whistle, but seeing the video, you'd be shocked to learn it was called a flagrant foul.

The call was so bad that FOX Sports' Aaron Torres suggested canceling sports altogether.

LSU then made two free throws and a three-pointer and the lead had gone from one to six by the time the Tigers got the ball back.

Results aside, it really was a bad call, but to a veteran like John Calipari, who has been coaching college basketball since the 1980's, it's not even worth staying mad about. The flagrant foul only got a brief mention in his postgame press conference with Cal saying, "That was critical, but it happens."

Arkansas started the season 11-2, but haven't won yet in 2025 after they started the new year with games against three consecutive top-25 teams. The loss to LSU was their fourth straight.


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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.