In a battle of legendary SEC head coaches, John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks will go on the road to face Bruce Pearl and the No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night.
While this is an important game for both teams for very different reasons, it might be fitting to go back and look at the record for these two head coaches against each other.
John Calipari Holds the Upper Hand Over Bruce Pearl
While Pearl and Auburn might look like the better team this season, Calipari has done very well against Pearl in his coaching career.
As insider Jon Rothstein recently pointed out on social media, Calipari has won 16 of the previous 24 matchups between him and Pearl.
Tonight’s game between Arkansas and Auburn is the 25th all-time meeting between John Calipari and Bruce Pearl.
Calipari has won 16 of the previous 24 meetings.
A massive opportunity for the Razorbacks, who are firmly on the bubble.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 19, 2025
Of course, some of those battles have come with Pearl being at both Tennessee and Auburn while Calipari was at Kentucky.
Now, the 25th meeting between these two coaches will mark a new chapter with Calipari now at Arkansas.
Again, this game means a lot to both schools for different reasons. Starting with the road team, the Arkansas Razorbacks are squarely on the bubble at 15-10. They have just two top-25 wins on the season, with only one coming since Christmas.
With Auburn sitting atop the AP Poll at the moment, this is a golden opportunity for Arkansas as it looks to build its case for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. A loss would drop them to 15-11 overall and a disappointing 4-9 in conference.
For Auburn, they are looking to stay in good shape for a No. 1 seed in both the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. A loss to an unranked Arkansas team could hurt their chances of doing both.
KEEP READING: Arkansas vs. Auburn Prediction
Despite just beating Alabama on Saturday, the Crimson Tide, who are right behind the Tigers in the SEC standings at 10-2, still get to face Auburn once more down the road. The Tigers don’t want to give up a cheap loss at home.
This game tonight likely will have everything you’d want as a college basketball fan from desperation to great coaching to emotion.
That is why you might want to buckle up.
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