Strong League Doesn't Scare Calipari, Chances to Pad March Resume

Hogs' coach embraces how deep the SEC is this year and how it will help all member's resumes come tournament time

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari yelling at his team in a 92-62 win over Oakland at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas' 92-62 victory over Oakland Monday night was quite the test considering both coach's history.

Arkansas coach John Calipari won't say it publicly, but he might have been out for redemption after losing in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament to the Golden Grizzlies. The fallout from the loss changed his process of roster building, leaning less on a freshmen class, signing impact transfers instead.

The Razorbacks have played with a full rotation, completely healthy and not limited, only twice throughout non-conference play. Respect from national media for Arkansas is there as it ranks No. 23 in this week's AP Top 25 poll after Calipari's team has beaten all mid-major opponents by double digits with a marquee win over then No. 14 Michigan in Madison Square Garden.

During his college coaching career, Calipari has always tried to prepare his teams with a national schedule including non-conference road games and neutral site venues across America. He is banking experiences of his blended roster will pay off come Saturday as Arkansas travels to Tennessee and play against the No. 1 Volunteers inside what should be a hostile Thompson-Boling Arena environment.

"Well, here's what I'd say about the league," Calipari said Monday night. "You could win seven league games and go 7-11. How many of those would be quad one? Six? Plus, the Michigan [win]. So, you have seven quad one wins. Wait a minute, there are other teams that are– 'Well, they got 24 wins.' Yeah, but none of them are quad ones."

The SEC has historically been a football driven league, but that shifted around 2017 as other teams began committing more resources to basketball. Since 2018, six schools have won the regular season conference title.

This season is quite a bit different than ever before as the conference boasts a 185-23 record in non-conference play which is nearly a 90% winning percentage in non-conference play. The SEC hasn't played a cupcake schedule either with a nation-high 21-8 record against AP-Top 25 opponents and 45-14 mark in neutral site games.

"That's the thing about this league. Take care of business," Calipari said. "Coach your team, whether they're playing well or not, you got to stay with them and you know, bust through."

Along with its SEC opener at Tennessee this Saturday, Arkansas will play back-to-back home games against No. 24 Ole MIss (Jan. 8) and No. 6 Florida (Jan. 11). The Razorbacks will play six other opponents currently ranked in the top 25 with three of those taking place at Bud Walton Arena.

"Our first three games are ridiculous," Calipari said. "We could be a Top 20 team and go 0-3. So, you just keep coaching, you keep going, you keep doing it. But there are really good teams in this league and that's what you always want, to have a league top-to-bottom that's that way. Is it only top to bottom for us? No, it's everybody. I'm worried just about us. You got the same games we got. Some of you even have a harder schedule than we got. So, it should be interesting."

HOGS FEED:

• Arkansas coaching staff preparing for rigors of SEC play

• Top 5 games between Hogs, Vols since Arkansas joined SEC

• REPORT: Arkansas assistant leaves, takes defensive coordinator role

• Calipari's Razorbacks get little respect in most rankings

• Shocked Calipari lost sleep due to player's performance

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