The Arkansas Razorbacks have closed their regular season rather dramatically. Their last match was against the No. 25-ranked Mississippi State. The game took an absolute turn in the last 11 seconds, with Jonas Aidoo making a crucial free throw and Billy Richmond coming up with a massive block. This led the team to a 93-92 win.
Additionally, D.J. Wagner led the way with 24 points, with a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Trevon Brazile made a comeback from first-half foul trouble to give a double-double in the second half alone. Now, that is a well-trained team!
John Calipari Brushes Off Conference Win, What’s Next for the Arkansas Razorbacks?
All thanks to their coach, John Calipari, who has taken the team to a 19-12 overall record and an 8-10 standing in the SEC. The world might expect Calipari to be excited about the wins. But instead, he is least bothered by it.
Coach Calipari is more focused on the road ahead than the wins his team has made. The Razorbacks will be going up against No. 16 seed South Carolina next. Now, this is a big opportunity for the team. Arkansas has a chance to win its first SEC Tournament crown since 2000. However, for Calipari, that’s not the ultimate goal.
Calipari has his eyes set on something bigger. As Calipari himself puts it, “I don’t care about the conference tournament. Which is why we won it so many times because I could care less. The tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament.” And he is not wrong in saying so!
"I don't care about the conference tournament, which is why we won it so many times. Because I could care less. The tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament." – John Calipari #MarchMadness
[via @chuckandboshow; @HogsPlus]pic.twitter.com/mVy5MO2i88
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 11, 2025
While the SEC Tournament does impact seeding, Calipari knows from experience that winning it isn’t everything.
Additionally, when one has won six SEC Championships and made four Final Four appearances as he has, the statement about the NCAA tournament simply seems to make complete sense.
Currently, the Calipari-led team sits in a precarious position heading into the NCAA Tournament. They’re likely in, but any slip-up against South Carolina could change things.
That said, it does not help that Arkansas lost to the Gamecocks by 19 points two weeks ago.
Although the Razorbacks did manage to make a comeback with consecutive wins over Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, the loss against the Gamecocks is not a good look. Especially because, in the last match, South Carolina’s top scorer gained 35 points over Arkansas in their last meeting.
This means that the Razorbacks will need big performances from Jonas Aidoo, Trevon Brazile, and Johnell Davis in the upcoming match. And let’s not forget that Brazile is truly the X factor in the upcoming game.
When he plays well, Arkansas wins. In the last four games, he’s averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds in three wins and fouled out in the only loss.
Despite the weight of the upcoming, Calipari isn’t sweating it. In fact, he remains confident.
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“Now, you play that tournament [SEC] to get the best seed you can get,” Calipari went on to say, “And if you’re going to get to the finals, win or don’t go to the finals and lose because you’re exhausted and you got to play on Tuesday or Wednesday. So, I’m like, ‘Let’s play well and try to improve our seed.'” So what does this mean?
Well, in simple words, if Arkansas makes a deep SEC Tournament run, great. If not, as long as they get a decent NCAA Tournament seed, Calipari won’t lose sleep over it.
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