37-Year NCAA Curse Pours Salt on John Calipar’s SEC Wounds Amid Arkansas’ Crumbling March Madness Hopes

After almost four decades, or 37 years to be exact, John Calipari looks like he’s gone back to his roots. Starting his head coaching career at UMass in the 1988-89 season, the coach eventually took that struggling program to a Final Four appearance in 1996. But before that, right in his opening season, UMass went 0-4 in the SEC part of the season, just like what Arkansas is doing right now. The first year Razorbacks coach seems to be recreating that record, but will Calipari and Co. go as far as losing 13 games like what happened with UMass in 1988-89?

After their 78-74 latest loss to LSU, a Calipari team is 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since, you guessed it, UMass in their first year with him as coach. Discussing the Razorbacks’ fate in the rest of the season, The Field of 68: After Dark hosts don’t seem very enthusiastic about their success. Rob Dauster says, “With the resume that they have and the schedule that they have left, I don’t see how they make the tournament.”

Already out of the top 25 on the AP poll, a list with Arkansas has anyway struggled all season long, their fourth consecutive loss is not confidence-inducing. “They’re gonna have opportunities but I don’t see how that Arkansas program and the coaching staff making the adjustments that they need to be able to make to get to the big dance,” Dauster continues.

Perhaps the hardest part of watching them fall to the LSU Tigers was that yet again, the Razorbacks blew a lead late in the game. Initially, the team was active and intense, slowly got into the offensive rhythm of things, and were also shooting 43.8% from the field and 50% from three. The second half is where things started going downhill, as Randolph Childress point out, especially with the defense.

“I wouldn’t say I saw this coming but I can tell what I see now – they stink…I don’t think they complement each other well. They’re all individually good players. Collectively it just doesn’t look like it fits,” Childress says. “They’re all better with [the ball] in their hands but they’re not really shooters. They don’t do much when they don’t have the ball in their hand.”

“They’re hard to watch, they give up some of the easiest baskets, some of the head-scratching baskets in games. I definitely don’t see them as a tournament team, I don’t know where they’re gonna go to get this flip, it’s just hard to watch Arkansas play basketball.”

There was a moment when a critical foul was called. But after the game, coach Cal did not even seem angry at it, as most coaches would usually be.

“…It happens”: John Calipari

After their previous three losses, John Calipari had loudly lamented his team’s lack of cohesion and ability to work together. While he knows results are important, Calipari is trying to build a culture here but it’s taking time. Before that is fully set in place, Calipari wants his team to score as much as they can and get as many rebounds as they can. But has he also given up now?

In the game vs. LSU, there was a moment when Trevon Brazile ran out to the logo to help freshman guard Boogie Fland with a screen. While he did lean too far into the Tigers defender to knock him off balance, not many would agree with the ref calling it a flagrant foul. The LSU player did not even fall to the ground, it was more like a misstep. Enough to enrage most coaches.

And yet, all Calipari said in reference to that later was, “That was critical, but it happens.” Well, a lot sure is happening right now that is giving flashbacks to Calipari’s beginning years in the sport. But can he turn around Arkansas like he has done with other schools he’s coached. No one is getting their hopes up.