John Calipari didn’t spend many of his 14 years at Kentucky on the bubble, but that’s where he’s spent most of Year 1 at Arkansas. The Razorbacks entered Saturday holding one of the “last four byes” into the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, but with a disastrous first half at South Carolina, Coach Cal’s bubble has officially burst.
Arkansas fell to 17-12 and 6-10 in SEC play with a 72-53 loss to the last-place South Carolina Gamecocks. Lamont Paris’s team had just one conference victory all season but jumped all over the Razorbacks in Columbia, taking a 32-14 lead into the break. According to The Field of 68, it was the first time since the turn of the century that the Razorbacks failed to score 15 points in a half.
Arkansas just shot 12.5% from the field in the 1st half 😳
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 1, 2025
It's the first time this CENTURY that Arkansas has scored less than 15 points in a half 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dyroDh95Km
Calipari’s team was coming off back-to-back wins, including a victory over No. 15 Missouri last Saturday. Sophomore center Zvonimir Ivisic scored 20 and 18 points respectively in those wins, but went ice cold with the rest of the Razorbacks, finishing with six points on 2-8 shooting. He was held scoreless in the abysmal first half as Arkansas sealed its fate for the NCAA Tournament.
While it was just a Quad 2 loss for Arkansas, dropping the Razorbacks to an uninspiring 2-3 in Quad 2 games, the fashion in which it occurred with such a lopsided first half will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the selection committee. At least in my opinion, a team capable of laying such an egg against the worst team in its conference with so much on the line doesn’t deserve a ticket to the big dance.
Arkansas swung big last offseason went it pried Coach Cal away from Lexington, and the big-money donors in Fayetteville, particularly the ones spending Tyson Chicken money, won’t be happy with the Razorbacks missing the tournament. While Cal won’t be on the hot seat in Year 1, there will be plenty of pressure on him in the SEC Tournament.
Calipari has won the SEC Tournament five times in his illustrious career, and after Saturday’s result, he may need to win it for a sixth if he wants to go dancing in Razorback red.