This March Madness hasn’t been your usual one. Cinderella teams, the charm of the tourney, are nowhere to be found. “The death of college basketball,” Stephen A. Smith declared if this were to continue. While the majority is sweating it, one team is keeping the dream alive for those who tune in for hope. Number 10th seed Arkansas is the only double-digit seeded program heading into the second week of the dance. Taking down two Hall-of-Famer-led programs, John Calipari has reminded everyone why he’s one of the best. After a long wait, he’s back in familiar territory–the Sweet 16. But not everyone’s convinced.

Nobody really expected Arkansas to be here. At one point, they weren’t even in the conversation for the dance. A brutal 0-5 start in the SEC and key injuries throughout the season made sure of that. But Coach Cal and his squad didn’t quit. They rallied back, closed out February strong, carried that momentum into early March, and somehow punched their ticket to March Madness. But with the game against number 3 seed Texas Tech scheduled to happen on 27th March, can they continue dancing?

Tyler Hansbrough certainly feels like they won’t be proceeding any further. In the Field of 68: After Dark podcast, the UNC alum said, “I’ll just tell you this they’re gonna lose to Texas Tech okay this is a top tier type SEC team with wing and athleticism and you know if you’re going to sit here and tell me that Arkansas is just too talented and that’s why they didn’t work it out from the get, I’m just not buying it.”

In an ideal world, the Hogs don’t win this one. Grant McCasland’s Red Raiders have been on a tear, winning six of their last seven games. Their defense has been a nightmare for opponents, holding teams to 75 or fewer points in 10 of their last 11 games. But that’s not all. Texas Tech is also one of the most efficient teams in the country. They rank 62nd nationally in field goal percentage at 46.9% and 78th in field goal attempts per game with 60.5. However, their real strength lies in their suffocating defense, which has turned them into a national powerhouse.

To make matters worse for Arkansas, they aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut. The Razorbacks rank 11th in the SEC in points per game at 76.6. Meanwhile, Texas Tech has been lethal from beyond the arc, ranking third in the Big 12 in three-point shooting at 37.1%, while holding opponents to just 31.9% from deep. All signs point to the number three seed coming away with a win. For Hansbrough, that would be a familiar scenario as a Tar Heel. So he isn’t encouraging others to hold out hopes.

“We can use the excuse ‘you want your team to peak at the end of the year’, but that only works for so long when you don’t peak at the end of the year. So I mean, if you guys are hanging on to that, look at us right now [Tar Heels]. So buckle up,” he adds. 

But Calipari is embracing the underdog role once again. For the third straight game, the Hogs find themselves as the team nobody expects to win. And Coach Cal? He wouldn’t have it any other way. He had a little something to say about Arkansas being overlooked yet again!

John Calipari loves being the underdog

Calipari and Co. are high in confidence right now. Why wouldn’t they? They are loving their “underdog” status. The lone surviving Cinderella of this dance has a certain charm to it isn’t it? Calipari certainly feels that way!

“Yeah, I’m fine with that [Being the underdog],” Calipari said on The Dan Patrick Show. “Look, most of my career was shouldn’t, wouldn’t, can’t, won’t. I mean, we’ve been the underdog. You remember UMass, you came up and did some games, you went on the court, shot air balls, and, you know, some of the stuff there, and Memphis, the same thing.”

Calipari who reached the Final Four with UMass knows a thing or two about being an underdog. He admits his team are the underdogs heading into the Chase Center to face Texas Tech. But here’s the good news for Arkansas. Coach Cal will have his top scorer back for this one. Will Adou Thiero be the missing piece they need to pull off another upset? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for more updates!