John Calipari Didn't Exude Confidence When Discussing Arkansas's NCAA Tournament Chances

Arkansas lost to Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC tournament Thursday.

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Calipari screams to his team against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks lost in stunning fashion to Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC tournament Thursday. Rebels guard Sean Pedulla made a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to give Ole Miss the 83–80 win which sent them to Friday's quarterfinals for a date with top-seeded Auburn.

The loss leaves Arkansas squarely on the bubble without a further opportunity to prove themselves to the NCAA tournament selection committee. Currently, Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney has the Razorbacks comfortably in as a 10-seed. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Razorbacks in the 68-team field as one of the tournament's last four byes.

After the difficult loss Thursday, Calipari was asked whether he thought his team did enough to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. And he didn't sound overly confident, mainly because he wasn't up to speed on the résumés of other bubble teams.

"Hopefully we've done enough and done enough in this league," Calipari said to reporters after the tough loss Thursday, via The Chuck & Bo Show. "You're playing the one-rank, two-rank, you're doing the things that we've done I think we've proven it. But I'm not in the [tournament committee] room so I don't know what's happening around the country because I haven't watched.

"I don't have any idea who's doing what right now. I was focusing on this game."

“Hopefully we’ve done enough”

John Calipari on whether or not he thinks Arkansas will be in the NCAA Tournament: pic.twitter.com/EhDXEQIgjE

— The Chuck & Bo Show (@chuckandboshow) March 13, 2025

Now, he has a long weekend to compare his team to others vying for the tournament's final at-large bids. In Calipari's first season, Arkansas finished 20-13 and 8-10 in SEC play. They beat South Carolina in the first round of the SEC tournament Wednesday before the loss to Ole Miss.

The Razorbacks' résumé is final, printed off and ready to hear if it's good enough for the Big Dance. All Calipari and his team can do now is wait.

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