The Arkansas Razorbacks entered Tuesday with another chance to right the wrongs of what has been a rocky season. Against Texas, head coach John Calipari was still without star freshman Boogie Fland, but his team was more then ready to handle the Longhorns, fighting for a big lead and holding off a late comeback attempt for a 78-70 victory.
A Season of Disappointment for Arkansas is Slowly Turning Around
Arkansas started in the preseason ranked #16 and with huge expectations for their inaugural season with new head coach John Calipari, who had been a big part of one of the best programs in college basketball during his 15 years at Kentucky. With a haul of Kentucky players following their coach to Fayetteville and star freshman joining the team, it was a season of promise.
The team exited nonconference play with an 11-2 record and a quality win over Michigan, but their start to SEC play was horrendous. The Razorbacks lost five straight games and were sitting at the bottom of the conference in late January.
The team battled injuries, with players like DJ Wagner and Jonas Aidoo missing time. Even now, the Hogs have been without freshman Boogie Fland. Coach Calipari was questioning his team’s lack of emotion and attitude. It looked like a dire situation, as the loaded SEC was leaving Arkansas behind.
The Arkansas Razorbacks Are Rounding Into Form
Following their fifth straight loss, which came against Missouri, Arkansas scored their first conference win in a thrilling game versus Georgia. Calipari praised the way his team fought and complimented their resilience in the narrow victory.
Even after they lost their next game against Oklahoma 65-62, it didn’t stop them from being ready to go for arguably the biggest game of their season – Coach Cal’s return to Lexington to face Kentucky. Despite facing boos from his old fans, the Razorbacks won 89-79. Three former Wildcats had big games against their old club, with Adou Thiero (21 points and 8 rebounds), Wagner (17 points and 8 assists), and Zvonimir Ivišić (14 points) all showing out in primetime. Calipari was thrilled.
We played well, we did… It’s nice to know they can play this way.
Wednesday night against Texas was another opportunity to keep building momentum. Arkansas was all over Texas to start the game and built an 11-point lead at halftime. They then started the second half with a 10-0 run and kept Texas at bay for the rest of the game. Even as the Longhorns mounted a furious comeback and even got the deficit down to 5 with one minute to go, Arkansas remained composed and closed out a road win.
Arkansas is Building Momentum At the Right Time
Arkansas entered the week being on the outside of ESPN’s NCAA Tournament projections. They will need several more quality wins to find themselves in the field of 68. The benefit of playing in such a loaded conference as opportunities to defeat high-quality teams come very consistently.
Arkansas battled a desperate Texas team who are in a similar situation and came out on top. Some notable lineup change trends continued in the game. As previously mentioned, Fland’s 15.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game have been missing for Arkansas. However, his absence has allowed transfer Johnell Davis to flourish.
Davis was benched heading into conference play and saw a decrease in minutes during their losing streak. Since Fland has been out, Davis has re-entered the starting lineup and been shining. He has averaged over 17 a game since rejoining the starting five and looking like a rejuvenated player.
Calipari has a history of improving as the season goes on. Calipari teams are now 23-8 in February/March regular season games over the last three years. That is a good track record of growing into a season. Their tournament chances are now very much alive.
Arkansas beats Texas 78-70 for another Q1 win
Said weeks ago, in the SEC – and all the Q1 opportunities it provides – no one is really out of the tourney picture.
Hogs now 14-8 right now and I think a 5-4 finish puts them in the Big Dance.
Hogs tourney hopes VERY much alive pic.twitter.com/FZL7TJ6pr6
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) February 6, 2025
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