John Calipari Gets Brutally Honest About Winning SEC Tournament

John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks will be one of the first teams tipping off the SEC Tournament after a 19-12 (8-10) mark in the regular season.

The Razorbacks have the chance to take the conference crown for the first time since the year 2000 with a strong week in Nashville. But this isn't the event Coach Cal says his team is focused on with March Madness around the corner.

"I don't care about the conference tournament," Calipari said. "Which is why we won it so many times because I could care less. The tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament."

"Now, you play that tournament [SEC] to get the best seed you can get," he added. "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.'"

Arkansas hasn't had the strongest season to this point but it doesn't sound like the school is in any danger of missing out on the Big Dance no matter the result at Bridgestone Arena.

The Razorbacks get things started with a Wednesday afternoon matchup vs. 12-19 (2-16) South Carolina at 1 PM ET.

Calipari won six SEC Championships while coaching Kentucky on his way to four Final Four appearances. He only missed out on the NCAA Tournament two times with the Wildcats (COVID year notwithstanding).