John Calipari Had Dark Line About Escaping Coffin After Arkansas’ Win Over St. John’s

John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks are heading to the Sweet 16.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari during the first half of a game against the St. John's Red Storm. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Saturday’s March Madness game between No. 10 Arkansas and No. 2 St. John’s was a battle between two of the biggest coaching personalities in the sport: John Calipari and Rick Pitino.

After a hard-fought 40 minutes of basketball, it was Calipari and the Razorbacks that came out on top, clawing their way to a 75–66 victory to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.

While there were some fireworks on the court, after the game, both coaches shared a nice moment. Then Calipari brought up coffins in his post-game interview.

“They missed a lot of shots,” Calipari told CBS’s Evan Washburn. “If they made more shots, they probably beat us. But these kids, I’m so proud of them—the way they play and fight and persevere. They threw us in the coffin, they just forgot the nails. We pushed it open and we came out.”

"They threw us in a coffin. They just forgot the nails. We pushed it open and we come out."

🗣️ @CoachCalArk on @RazorbackMBB's turnaround from 0-5 in the SEC to the Sweet 16 | @EvanWashburn pic.twitter.com/fR8y2Pu7Iu

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2025

The metaphor is both morbid and somewhat unfitting. While the game was tightly contested throughout, there was never a moment when the Red Storm were running away with things—their biggest lead of the game was just four points.

Regardless, the Razorbacks are far from buried, and will have to brush the dirt off themselves between now and next week’s game, where they will face either No. 11 Drake or No. 3 Texas Tech for a spot in the Elite Eight.

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