KANSAS

John Calipari and Arkansas Relishing Underdog Role vs. Kansas

The tenth-seeded Razorbacks head into Thursday night's first-round matchup with the Jayhawks facing an uphill battle - but that's nothing new for the Hogs

Jackson Langendorf

Arkansas head coach John Calipari works with his team against Vanderbilt during the second half at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari works with his team against Vanderbilt during the second half at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, March 4, 2025. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Kansas vs Arkansas: NCAA Tournament First Round

A long tenured head coaching career that has spanned nearly four decades, and included stops in the NBA, John Calipari has done it all and seen it all.

And while he may have been at the bluest of bluebloods during his time at Kentucky, Coach Cal has rarely been the favorite.

“I’ve always been the underdog, until the last 15 years. But, I’d always been the underdog,” said Calipari. 

Even at Kentucky, where Cal pushed the Wildcats to five Final Fours and a national championship, he never felt his squad was expected to get it done: 

“Now, we’ve taken those teams and gotten high seeds, but even as a high seed, they’d say they’ll get upset. They won’t win.”

This year, as the head coach of Arkansas, Calipari has had an up and down season, with the Razorbacks finishing up their pre-NCAA Tournament campaign at 20-13, and sneaking into the Big Dance as a ten seed.

And who did they draw as their matchup?

None other than the preseason No. 1 overall team in the Kansas Jayhawks, who after a somewhat underwhelming regular season have slid all the way down to a seventh seed. 

Heading into Thursday night’s matchup in Providence, Rhode Island as the underdog, it’s safe to say few squads are more willing to accept, and relish that label better than Calipari and his Razorbacks:

“It was kind of nice this year to get back to my roots of we’re underdogs. We were playing games where we were 14-point dogs and we had to go win, and we did.” 

Calipari has done it all season long, and as far as he’s concerned, he’s done it his whole life:

“I was raised as the underdog. Us against everybody.”

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Jackson Langendorf
JACKSON LANGENDORF

Primarily covers Illinois football and basketball, and Kansas basketball, with an emphasis on analysis, features and recruiting. Langendorf, a third-generation University of Illinois alum, has been watching Illini basketball and football for as long as he can remember. An advertising student and journalism devotee, he has been writing for On SI since October 2024. He can be followed and reached on X @jglangendorf.

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