Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the wrong first name of Southern California’s coach.
“We gutted it out,” he said. “I don’t care. We won.”
Less a beauty contest than a battle of wills between two bluebloods coming off frustrating regular seasons, the Razorbacks’ victory represents a soft achievement of sorts for Calipari, who won just a single tournament game in his final five seasons at Kentucky.
It’s way too soon to say the in-conference move to Arkansas will spark a renaissance for Calipari and his new program, which reached the second weekend multiple times under his predecessor, current Southern California coach Eric Musselman. This year’s roster was remade through transfers and high-profile recruits, many of whom followed Calipari after being verbally committed to the Wildcats.
With just one player with ample tournament experience in former Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis, the Razorbacks were one of the field’s biggest unknowns: Which team would show up on Thursday night?
“Every one of us, including me, had doubts,” Calipari said. “We all had to convince ourselves we’re going to do this.”
Unfortunately, beating this Kansas team doesn’t mean much. After another mediocre regular season that saw the Jayhawks finish sixth in the Big 12, eight games behind Houston, it’s obvious that coach Bill Self’s program is in need of a major reboot.
Wildly pushing buttons like an infant mouthing a remote control, Self misfired on nearly every coaching decision late in the second half — most notably continuing to rely on center Hunter Dickinson even as the senior continued to hamstring the Jayhawks’ halfcourt offense.
“We’ve still got to take care of business,” guard D.J. Wagner said. “Just knowing the stakes. Like, win or go home. Treat every game the same. Of course, being grateful and celebrate every win, but don’t celebrate too much. Because we’ve got another game to play.”
Importantly, this win takes some heat off Calipari and puts a positive spin on what had been a draining slog into postseason play. That final half-decade in Lexington had delivered a wrecking ball to his reputation as perhaps the surest thing in college coaching; notching a tournament victory in his first season with Arkansas can help refocus the attention on Calipari and the Razorbacks instead of looking back at the Wildcats.
“I didn’t want the albatross around my neck of my history of coaching,” he said. “Like, you’re supposed to win every game. No. No, you’re not.”
Arkansas has, in fact, felt the need to win every game for weeks thanks to life on the tournament bubble, which switched the Razorbacks into win-or-go-home mode during the second half of the SEC schedule.
That’s one of three factors that paced the opening-round win, joining the Jayhawks’ ineptitude and the grind of navigating through a conference that sent a record 14 teams into tournament play. Fourteen of Arkansas’ final 16 games during the regular season came against tournament teams, turning nearly every matchup into a postseason referendum.
The benefit of being tested twice a week since SEC play heated up in early January was seen in the Razorbacks’ composure late in the second half. After coughing up an 11-point lead three minutes into the half, Arkansas fell behind 67-66 with 2:56 remaining. The Razorbacks then went on a quick 5-0 run to retake the lead and made all eight free throws down the stretch to lock down the win.
“Being in the games we were in, just playing the great teams we were playing every night … every night was basically a game like that, down to the final two minutes,” said Wagner. “That prepared us a lot. Even when they made a run, we’d been in situations like that. It helped us stay calm and stay locked in.”
Bigger and tougher tests are around the corner. After a middling debut season, Pitino has transformed the Red Storm into the Big East regular-season and tournament champion, and potentially a team capable of charging all the way to the Final Four. Joining them in the West region are No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Maryland and No. 8 Connecticut, the two-time defending national champions.
Calipari has been here before — just not recently. But every tournament win could move the focus away from the past and toward his future with the Razorbacks.
“It doesn’t have any bearing on right now,” Calipari said. “It doesn’t matter. Final Four, national title, none of it matters. It’s this team, trying to make us better.”