Arkansas HC John Calipari adds to legend with Sweet 16 run

The legend of John Calipari grew on Saturday. 

In his first season leading Arkansas, the Razorbacks are headed to the Sweet 16.

West Region No. 10 seed Arkansas (22-13, 8-10 in SEC) defeated No. 2 seed St. John’s (31-5, 18-2 in Big East), 75-66, to advance to its 15th regional semifinal in program history and Calipari’s 16th.

Not bad for a team that began conference play 0-5, including a loss at LSU (14-18, 3-15 in SEC), one of two SEC schools to fail to make the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. Or one missing its leading scorer.

Arkansas happens to be both.

The Razorbacks were left for dead in early January, but Calipari has righted the ship, with Arkansas going 7-2 in its last nine games.

Things looked questionable at the start of March Madness after Calipari announced junior guard Adou Thiero, the team’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, would be unavailable to start the tourney.

Instead, the 2015 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has orchestrated another extended NCAA Tournament run, further establishing his status as one of the greatest head coaches in men’s college basketball history.

Freshman 6-foot-5 forward Billy Richmond III led the Razorbacks off the bench with 16 points against St. John’s. 

Defensively, Arkansas limited 6-foot-7 Red Storm junior guard RJ Luis Jr., the 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year, to nine points on 3-of-17 shooting.

Per ESPN, Calipari became the second coach in NCAA history to take four different programs to the Sweet 16.