Arkansas’ inclusion in NCAA Tournament a testament to team’s resilience
There was a time when including Arkansas in the 2025 NCAA Tournament conversation would get you laughed out of the room by even the most ardent Razorback supporters.
That time was less than two months ago, when head coach John Calipari and the Hogs found themselves with an 0-5 record in SEC play going into Arkansas’ Jan. 22 matchup with Georgia.
Even worse was that freshman guard Boogie Fland was ruled out for the season ahead of the game, which at the time, was seen as nothing more than a contest that should’ve been a relatively easy win for Georgia.
However, it was a 68-65 win over the Bulldogs that catapulted Arkansas to an 8-5 mark over its final 13 SEC games. A win over South Carolina in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday was all Arkansas needed to solidify its spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Calipari’s first season at Arkansas has been anything but conventional. An offseason littered with dreams of a potential Final Four appearance with a stacked roster and Hall of Fame coach quickly turned into a season of quashed dreams.
But Arkansas’ hot streak over the last two months has revived a once-stagnant team and put the Razorbacks back on the national map. Arkansas certainly isn’t a national championship favorite, but the Hogs have an opportunity to make a surprise run.
The aforementioned Fland will return for Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament, and star forward Adou Thiero could return should Arkansas advance past the opening round.
Arkansas will take on Kansas on Thursday in a rematch of a preseason exhibition. On Oct. 25, Arkansas beat Kansas, 85-69, in an electric game inside Bud Walton Arena.
The last time Arkansas made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, the Hogs faced No. 1 seeded Kansas in the Round of 32. In a upset victory, Arkansas and Eric Musselman beat the Jayhawks to advance to a third consecutive Sweet 16.
In his first year in Fayetteville, Calipari has the opportunity to write the latest chapter of his NCAA Tournament coaching career by leading a team that once had no business sniffing the bracket to a deep run that will be remembered forever in the Ozark Mountains.
