Arkansas Back to the Sweet 16 under Calipari, defeating Pitino and St. John's. -

PROVIDENCE, R. I. — John Calipari had an important message for his No. 10-seeded Arkansas men’s basketball team ahead of Saturday’s game against No. 2 St. John’s in the NCAA tournament’s second round. “I expressed before the game, ‘How about we give ourselves the opportunity to create some magic? Let’s go compete intensely, play freely and loosely, [and] whatever occurs, occurs,'”

He stated. The Razorbacks answered with a physical, hard-fought 75-66 victory that brought Calipari, in his first year with the team, back into the Sweet 16 for the 16th time. He became only the second coach to lead four programs to the Sweet 16, alongside Lon Kruger (Florida, Kansas State, Oklahoma, UNLV). Calipari previously guided UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky.

What makes this journey particularly special for the 66-year-old Calipari is that it appeared so unlikely at the end of January. “I told them this is as fulfilling a year as I have experienced given how far we have progressed,” he commented, referencing Arkansas starting 0-5 in the SEC and facing long absences due to injuries to key players Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland.

Freshman forward Billy Richmond III topped Arkansas with 16 points and nine rebounds on Saturday, while Karter Knox contributed 15 points (9-of-11 from the free throw line) and Johnell Davis scored 13. Arkansas (22-13) will next compete against No. 3 seed Texas Tech, which defeated No. 11 Drake 77-64 in San Francisco. This marks the deepest advancement for a Calipari team since 2019, when his Kentucky squad fell to Auburn in the Elite Eight.

Since the COVID-19 season in 2020, which had no tournament, Kentucky had missed the NCAA tournament, was upset by No. 15 seed St. Peter’s in the first round, lost to No. 3 Kansas State in the second round, and suffered a first-round defeat to No. 14 Oakland. That series of March misfortunes prompted Calipari to move to Arkansas amidst the outcry from locals in Lexington, a decision that sent shockwaves through the sport during the Final Four weekend in 2024.

After appearing hopeless at times earlier this year, Arkansas’ revival has been among the sport’s greatest surprises in 2025. Saturday’s intense game against St. John’s was a coveted event. The match attracted celebrities and prominent figures, including Spike Lee, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, and New York Knicks executive vice president William Wesley (also known as “World Wide Wes”) — underscoring how it transcended a standard second-round NCAA tournament contest.

The coaching duel between Calipari and Rick Pitino naturally heightened the excitement. The entrance to Federal Hill in Providence, located just a few full-court heaves from the arena, features an upside-down pineapple. This traditional Italian symbol represents abundance and quality and serves as an appropriate emblem for the clash of the two Hall of Fame coaches who both proudly acknowledged their Italian roots this week.

Thus, tension and rivalry were overflowing in abundance and quality in a familiar launching pad for the careers of both coaches. Pitino took Providence to the Final Four in 1987 before departing to coach the Knicks. Calipari’s pivotal journey at UMass, marked by a Final Four appearance in 1996, commenced with a weekend in Providence.

He made his way to the postgame press conference with his arm around Chris Humm, the retired sports information director from Brown University, who had accompanied him in 1996. Humm sported a pineapple tie as a tribute to the Federal Hill entrance and their successful strolls to press conferences a generation earlier.

The reunion of Calipari and Pitino here holds great significance because their paths are more intertwined than they would wish to acknowledge: confrontations with the NCAA, notable departures to the NBA, and stories of redemption from both. Winning is the paramount method to endure and progress in college basketball, a concept as timeless as the tournament bracket itself.

“It’s been a really tough year,” remarked Arkansas assistant Bruiser Flint, who initially coached alongside Calipari at UMass in the 1990s. “We lost our best players. We didn’t really have that many guys. He kept them unified. He got the big guys motivated. He maintained the focus. He kept telling the guys to believe we’re going to be the most improved team in the country. And we accomplished that.

“And he instilled belief in the guys, consistently reminding everyone that their time would come and that we would need them, urging them to be prepared. And he continually emphasized that, which is a significant reason we are here right now. “

The day prior to the game against St. John’s, Calipari expressed his hope that his career will eventually be seen through the perspective of a driven coach whose teams played fiercely and competitively.

“I am who I am,” he stated. “Like it or not, this is who I am and how I interact with kids. “

His players at Arkansas have reacted in one of the most unexpected narratives of the tournament.

“The fire within him, he wants what is best for us and he desires us to succeed in every moment,” said guard D. J. Wagner. “So every time you glance over there, you’ll see him yelling or going wild, and it is truly out of love because he cares about us and he wants us to win badly.

“I feel he deserves everything. He’s an outstanding coach. He’s a legend. “