John Calipari, you genius! After a season filled with doubt and despair, Arkansas has made the great escape. The confident 75-66 win was a real battle of attrition between the two teams, both of which struggled with their shooting. However, the Hogs pulled through. Billy Richmond and Karter Knox combined for an electrifying 31 points, while Johnell Davis set the tone early for Calipari’s team.

Arkansas might be one of the biggest underdogs in the Sweet Sixteen. No one thought they’d make such a deep run with their regular season blunders, but Coach Cal pulled off the impossible. However, it wasn’t an entirely clean contest by both sides. Both teams played high-pressure defense which inevitably led to a large number of fouls being committed early.

There was even an altercation on the sidelines between the two coaches. Rick Pitino told off Calipari for careless fouling from his players. “That’s bullsh-t John! Control your guys” However, it wasn’t just on the Arkansas head coach. St. John’s were only four fouls short of the Razorbacks and both teams had a player foul out–Kadary Richmond, and Ivisic. It was a real slugfest in the Amica Mutual Pavilion!

Not only that, the battle was ugly. Arkansas shot a terrible 10.5% from three, while St. John’s was worse at 9.1 on 22 shot attempts. The foul-trouble that both teams were in caused a lot of free-throws for everyone. However, according to fans and analysts alike, the real issue is not with the way the teams played the game. So what was the problem in the Arkansas-St. John’s matchup? Let’s find out.

Fans react to terrible officiating in John Calipari – Rick Pitino duel

The unspoken rivalry between Coach Cal and Rick Pitino is an open secret. They might deny any such thing, but we’ve seen our fair share of heated encounters from the pair during their Louisville-Kentucky eras. This game was supposed to be a throwback matchup in terms of coaching, but it turned into a real, mud-slinging, slugfest.

Fans and analysts alike have drawn attention to the poor officiating in the St. John’s vs Arkansas matchup.“College officiating is just completely broken.” An analyst for 247sports.com posted on X, while national broadcaster John Fanta agreed. “Let’s allow the players on both teams to decide this game.”

Both sides were gettings calls that just did not make sense. But particularly, Arkansas fans pointed out how the officiating stole the momentum from the Hogs early on in the game. The Razorbacks had gotten a hefty lead to start off with, but a few trips to the foul-line for the Red Storm cancelled out whatever advantage they had.

Hogs fans on X went absolutely ballistic after St. John’s’ briefly lived comeback. “Calipari should be throwing an absolute tantrum over these insane foul calls.” One fan pointed out, criticizing the refereeing in the second-round matchup. Frankly, it doesn’t make sense for teams to be heading to the line so many times in a Tournament game.

Even neutral spectators agreed. “These refs are terrible.. this is a physical game. Call both ends consistently… alot of cheap soft fouls being called. It’s effecting the game..” A NCAA supporter said on X, criticizing how both teams went to the line for nearly thirty shots each.

Another fan was enraged about the officiating and the way they handled the late-game situations. “Officials feeling the need to make everything about themselves in a 3 point high level NCAA Tournament game with 6 minutes left is everything that’s wrong with college basketball. SJU/Arkansas deserve better. Let them play.” The fact of the matter is, the referees changed the entire game for both teams.

If the officiating was a lot more stable, the game would’ve focused more on the players and their accomplishments. However, with the fouls being called, neither team could build any semblance of rhythm.

Arkansas, however, is happy with the end results. Calipari’s team grinded hard through their nightmarish regular season, and are reaping the rewards for their hardwork. However, the road ahead won’t be easy. The Razorbacks need to keep their head down and trust the process as they have been doing so far. But it will be interesting to see how far they go in this NCAA Tournament! What do you think? Can the Hogs make a Final Four appearance? Or will they fall in the next round? Only time will tell.