Calipari's No. 18 Razorbacks Have Phase Two Just Ahead

Arkansas' first-year coach surely has two games circled on his calendar more than others

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari giving his team instructions during a game with Troy at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

John Calipari's basketball team will have several short "seasons" within their 31-game schedule that precedes the postseason. They're in phase one now but not far from their second "season."

Coach Cal has talked of his process, how he doesn't expect his teams to be firing on all cylinders until January, and hopefully peaking in March when the madness begins.

Part of that thought process, and strategy, is because Calipari is usually reloading with a bunch of new guys after his one-and-done 5-star recruits have signed life-changing contracts with NBA teams.

The Razorbacks are 2-1 after beating Lipscomb and Troy, with a five-point loss to Baylor in between. Baylor is ranked No. 12, down four spots from the preseason poll while the Hogs are No. 18, down two spots.

Now, back to those short seasons within the long season. The Hogs host Pacific tonight at 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena. They'll follow that with home games Friday against Little Rock and next Monday versus Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Calipari and his staff might not quite look at it this way, but that'll conclude phase one of the long season. Why, you ask? Because three of the next four games will then be against traditionally good programs from top conferences.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero (3) drives to the basket in the second half against the Troy Trojans at Bud Walton Arena Wednesday. Arkansas won 65-49, helped by Thiero's 19 points and seven rebounds. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

On Thanksgiving Day, the Hogs face Illinois -- 26th in the AP poll, just a couple votes behind No. 25 Ole Miss -- in a neutral site game in Kansas City. The next game is Dec. 3 at Miami, which also received votes in the poll.

After a home game against UTSA Dec. 7, the Hogs travel to New York City to face Michigan in Madison Square Garden Dec. 10. That'll be an exciting homecoming for UA freshman Boogie Fland, a high school star from the Bronx.

Those three matchups against Illinois, Miami and Michigan will tell Calipari and his staff a lot about their team. It'll also highlight, at least to them, what their team needs to work on most.

OK, what's after that? The mid to late December games, usually schedule fillers against lower mid-major programs. For the Hogs this year, that'll be a North Little Rock game against Central Arkansas, followed by Fayetteville contests with North Carolina A&T and Oakland.

Who is Oakland? That's the unknown team from Michigan that pulled the major upset against Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats back in March. That one is probably circled in the Calipari house, at least mentally.

Following the Oakland game Dec. 30, the Hogs have four days to prepare for their SEC opener. It's a tough one, as many will be, against No. 11 Tennessee in Knoxville. It doesn't get easier for many of the next 17 conference games.

Oh, there's another game circled on lots of calendars in Arkansas but especially Kentucky. That's when the Razorbacks go to Lexington to play the Wildcats on national TV. It's on Saturday, Feb. 1.

The Hogs' coaching staff might even break their SEC slate into parts like lots of coaches do, with short-term goals. Point is, the long 31-game regular season is full of small sections that coaches use to further their coaching and team improvement process.

For the Hogs, phase two arrives with Turkey Day. But for the next 10 days, Calipari and his staff will hope for, and work toward, significant improvement prior to what amounts to a major test against Illinois.

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