Hogs' Vibes Right Ahead of First Round Clash with Kansas

Calipari says Razorbacks ready to face 'hard road' in Providence

Arkansas Razorbacks guard DJ Wagner against the Missouri Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari entered Sunday concerned whether his team did enough to earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Several national college basketball journalists and talking heads kept reminding the country that if Arkansas was going to get into the field of 68, it was going to be close. Some even jumped to the conclusion that announcing freshman guard Boogie Fland's return put an exclamation point to its case.

No, that shouldn't be the story at all as Arkansas rewrote its motivational self-help piece once the calendar flipped to February with a monumental beatdown of Kentucky inside Rupp Arena. The victory was no fluke as Calipari guided his team to an 8-5 record in its final 13 games, shooting 35% from three and that was done mostly without its two leading scorers.

As the minutes of the CBS broadcast passed, Arkansas saw many of the teams they had beaten over the past 45 days have their names called respectively. The Razorbacks had to wait over 30 minutes as they were the final SEC team to be announced, but it really wasn't that close.

"We struggled early, and my teams have struggled early in the past, but not like that," Calipari said Sunday. "But to stick together, to be in dark places yet overcome, to understand the battle that you have is with yourself, the life lessons that these kids take from this is really good.

"To be able to say, ‘alright, we’re in the tournament’. [Providence] will be a hard road. It may be the hardest, but so what, we’re in."

This Arkansas team is older than most Calipari teams he has assembled over the past 20 years. Obviously, Johnell Davis, Jonas Aidoo, Adou Thiero and Trevon Brazile are all experienced upperclassmen and were expected to be guys to build around. The only problem is they were all available on barely a handful of occasions.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Jonas Aidoo against the Texas Longhorns at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

"The biggest thing you can’t plan for is injuries," Calipari said. "The stuff that happened to Jonas, where he was out four months and had to have an operation. The stuff that happened to Nelly, falling out of golf cart? Being out that amount of time? Then all of a sudden Adou. Then all of a sudden Boogie. Your two leading scorers are out. You can’t predict all that stuff."

Without all its major pieces healthy for an extended period of time over the past five to six months, his team struggled mightily to find its footing. The team stumbled through January, falling to 1-6 in the SEC, losing by an average of nine points per game, making 37% of its field goal attempts and a putrid 25% from three.

No matter how old, experienced, young or talented, any team in the country would have struggled to figure things out and eventually let go of the rope. Instead, Arkansas continued to stay the course in Year 1 and decided to embrace Calipari's influence to "refuse to lose."

“Refuse to lose”

Calipari’s pregame speech against Missouri setup Arkansas’ dash to the NCAA Tournament. #wps pic.twitter.com/ROe5PUvV22

— Jacob Davis (@JacobScottDavis) March 17, 2025

The Razorbacks are one of the best defensive teams in the NCAA Tournament, holding down the No. 20 spot in KenPom's college basketball efficiency ratings. Shots don't always fall at neutral site venues, but defense always travels, which is something Arkansas needs to pack extra of before heading to Providence, Rhode Island.

"We’re the youngest team in the SEC," Calipari said. "Yeah, for me we’re older, from some of my past teams. But we’re still a young team. Look, we defend. We do all that. We just have spells where we don’t make baskets."

Calipari's Sunday theme was mostly about how his group of players responded despite not playing well a few weeks. It ultimately played a role in seeding, but the Hogs are happy they're in and ready to fight through one of the toughest quad of games in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

"[The teams] was great in practice today, terrific," Calipari said. "There was a spirit about them, they were talking to one another, they're doing all the right stuff. That doesn't guarantee that you win, but the other guarantees you lose. So they're doing all the right things."

No. 7 seed Kansas will take on No 10 seed Arkansas Thursday, March 20 with tip-off set for 6:10 p.m. CT. The winner of that game will play the winner of No. 2 seed St. John's and No. 15 seed Omaha.

HOGS FEED:

• Historic storylines for Razorbacks in Providence against Jayhawks

• Never say die Razorbacks topple Rebels with furious ninth inning

• Hogs lace up dancing shoes; face Kansas in NCAA Tourney

• Pros and cons: will Fland's return help or hurt Hogs?

• Boogie's return could help solve Razorbacks' biggest problem

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