Razorbacks head into SEC play feeling armed for every war ahead

Arkansas finishes its tune-ups and braces for a rugged SEC run, with players and Calipari insisting past battles hardened roster.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The New Year is supposed to bring optimism, reflection and maybe a few resolutions people won’t keep.

Arkansas, meanwhile, skips straight to the hard part: trying to survive what coach John Calipari likes to call “war” season.

If the warm-up games were the preseason potluck, the Razorbacks are now stepping into something with heavier flavor with the SEC schedule.

That cheery thought arrives on the heels of a final non-conference outing that looked far less stressful. The Hogs cleared out James Madison 103-74, a win that was pleasant but not exactly the reason Calipari thinks his group is better prepared.

He’s more interested in the stuff that didn’t make the highlight reel like zone defenses, ball-screen traps and all those schemes coaches love to throw out like they’re offering free samples.

“Those games prepared us for our league, but so did all these other games,” Calipari said, folding in a reminder that Arkansas didn’t just play five big non-conference opponents but also faced everything from zone looks to trapping defenses.

The specifics matter to him, even if most fans prefer the scoreboard.

Finishing 2025 the same way we’ll start 2026 💪 pic.twitter.com/LPpbnTl9Xx

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) January 1, 2026

Calipari frames SEC as 18 separate battles

While some leagues like to claim they beat you with skill, finesse or pace, Calipari skipped all the pretense. He went straight to his favorite theme.

“Every game is a war,” he said. “There’s no, ‘Alright, we got this game.’ How many games do we have? Eighteen? They’re going to be 18 wars.”

If you listen closely, you might hear the ghost of a Civil War reenactment echoing through Bud Walton Arena.

But beneath the dramatics is the real point that it’s a league that just sent 14 of 16 teams to the NCAA Tournament, put two in the Final Four and handed Florida a national championship.

Even with some turnover, Calipari claims the conference hasn’t exactly softened.

The Razorbacks know this because they lived the other side of the story.

Last year’s SEC opener — also against Tennessee — turned into a humbling 76-52 lesson. That loss snowballed into five straight league defeats.

Arkansas will now try to keep that from becoming tradition.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas (1) shoots a free throw int he first half against the James Madison Dukes at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Fresh faces, familiar challenges

If the conference hasn’t changed much, at least the Razorbacks have.

Calipari’s roster isn’t suffering through the same injury concerns that soured last year before it even began.

Better yet, he has a clearer handle on who carries the load when things get sour.

That list includes veterans and freshmen alike: Trevon Brazile, Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas and Karter Knox. It’s not exactly surprising, but Calipari didn’t hide his reality check.

“So if you have three out of your best five or six (not show up), you’re not going to win in this league,” he said.

As pep talks go, it’s refreshingly honest.

There’s also added depth recently, with Isaiah Sealy rounding things out as a ninth game-ready option.

That sentence alone would’ve sounded like luxury a season ago, when the Razorbacks had about as much rotation stability as an overloaded washing machine.

Arkansas Razirbacks forward Meleek Thomas down load against the Jackson State Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Freshman’s simple blueprint

Freshman guard Meleek Thomas did not bother with Calipari’s dramatic language. His take was much more direct.

“Don’t take no steps back, just attack everything, just straightforward, just stick together, we’re going to be straight,” Thomas said.

In a league Calipari insists is filled with “wars,” Thomas distilled the plan to something closer to chores — keep at it, keep pushing, hope the results follow.

That tone might suit this roster better. The Hogs spent early December defending pick-and-roll traps and attacking zones.

They also dealt with five Top-25 opponents during non-league play. For a team searching for identity, that’s plenty of rehearsal.

Tennessee awaits — again

The rematch with Tennessee comes first, just as it did last season. The Razorbacks will hope this one marks a different beginning.

Bud Walton Arena will host it, and while no venue can erase last year’s struggles, the Hogs enter this one feeling better about their readiness and temperament.

Calipari’s confidence isn’t bluster — he simply believes the team has already “seen all the stuff” that needs to be handled. Zones, traps, physical guards, up-tempo teams — the Razorbacks got an early taste of it all.

Whether that translates into SEC wins is an entirely different discussion, and Calipari knows it. The man who insists on describing conference basketball like a battlefield isn’t selling shortcuts.

But at least this time, Arkansas walks into the fight with experience, depth and a freshman claiming the secret is as simple as marching forward.

Key takeaways

• Arkansas enters SEC play after a varied non-conference schedule Calipari says prepared them for league challenges.
• Calipari’s “18 wars” theme highlights the SEC’s difficulty and last season’s reminder of how brutally it can start.
• The Razorbacks will lean heavily on Brazile, Acuff Jr., Thomas and Knox, plus added depth with Isaiah Sealy.