Turns out all John Calipari needed to snap out of his first-round curse in the NCAA Tournament was a change of scenery. It wasn't always pretty for Arkansas against Kansas on Thursday night, but Johnell Davis made some huge shots down the stretch and Trevon Brazile bottled up Hunter Dickinson as the Razorbacks pulled away late for a 79-72 win and a date in the second round on Saturday.
It continues what's been a pretty remarkable turnaround for Coach Cal and the Hogs, who got off to a dreadful start to SEC play and looked dead in the water in January before righting the ship and earning their way into the Big Dance. They carried that momentum into the opener against Kansas, but now the question becomes: Can they keep this magical run going?
With the way this team is playing right now and the return of star freshman Boogie Fland, it's hard to count them out. But the road is about to get a whole lot tougher thanks to an old rival.
Who does Arkansas play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament?
Next up for the 7-seed Razorbacks will almost certainly be a date with the 2-seed in the West region, the St. John's Red Storm. While the Johnnies still have a first-round game against 15-seed Omaha to get through, it would be a true shocker if the Big East double champs went down in that spot.
That should set up one of the coaching matchups of the entire tournament, as Calipari and Rick Pitino lock horns one more time. Of course, these two are intimately familiar with one another from their days leading Kentucky and Louisville, respectively. But this is a new year and two new programs, and it'll be fascinating to see whether St. John's tenacious all-court defense will be able to bottle up Davis, Fland and a resurgent Hogs attack.
When did Arkansas last make the Sweet 16?
If Arkansas does find a way to spring the upset, it'll earn its fourth trip to second weekend of the Big Dance in the last five years. Eric Musselman last did it in the 2022-23 season, ironically getting to the Sweet 16 thanks to an upset of ... 1-seed Kansas.