Razorbacks Begin to Feed Monster, Headline Exclusive List

Calipari hire showed school's commitment to winning, set another Sweet 16 appearance in motion

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari yells from the sidlines against the LSU Tigers at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-HitThatLine.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There's a trend starting to take shape within the SEC when it comes to basketball prowess.

As of March 24, 2025, there are only two teams with double digit victories in the NCAA Tournament this decade in Arkansas (10) and Alabama (10) and the two are beginning to separate themselves apart from other conference rivals. Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats gets to claim each victory while former Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman (8) and John Calipari (2) claim theirs.

Commitment to Hardwood Excellence

Both programs were often involved in the NCAA Tournament during the 1980s through the mid 1990s. Each went through lengthy dry spells without sustained success for the better part of 15 seasons before 2020-21.

Arkansas cycled through Stan Heath, John Pelphrey and Mike Anderson until athletics director Hunter Yurachek found lightning in a bottle hiring NBA lifer and then Nevada coach Eric Musselman. The energetic portal czar took the Razorbacks to two Elite Eight's and Sweet 16 appearances in a three year span before heading home to USC following last season's disappointment.

Yurachek found a way with the backing of major donor John Tyson to finally bring John Calipari in to coach the Razorbacks after a handful of tries. It's clear the Razorbacks were under-seeded thanks to a roller coaster ride of a regular season.

1994 NCAA National Champion coach Nolan Richardson is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame during the 2014 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Springfield Symphony Hall. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Now, Arkansas is healthy and hitting on all cylinders ahead of a showdown in San Francisco against Texas Tech this Thursday. The Razorbacks program and fans were starved for a winner prior to the 2020-21 season, just like Hall of Fame coach Nolan Richardson once stated.

"We've created a monster here," Richardson said. "And I love that monster because I created it. You have to feed the monster and we were not feeding that monster."

That monster is being fed now as Arkansas is in its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five seasons. With another Hall of Fame coach at the helm, the monster may not go hungry for a long time with the Razorbacks' athletics department commitment to basketball.

Alabama's Greg Byrne did the same thing during that coaching carousel bringing Oats in after a four-year run at Buffalo where he went an unprecedented 52-19 with back-to-back tournament appearances. He ultimately flipped the Crimson Tide's football school narrative and made the program nationally relevant with a fun style of basketball.

Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats runs practice ahead of their NCAA Tournament First Round game at Rocket Arena on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee has established itself as a national title contender under Rick Barnes, but hasn't quite gotten over the hump for a Final Four appearance. The Volunteers have are third in the SEC with eight tournament wins since 2020, including an Elite Eight last year.

SEC School	Tournament Wins (since 2020)
Arkansas, Alabama	10
Tennessee	8
Texas	5
Auburn	4
Florida	3
Texas A&M	2
LSU, Oklahoma, Missouri	1
Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt	0

*statistics compiled by Ben Larsen, via X.

SEC Sets Tournament Records

The SEC earned 14 bids to the NCAA Tournament field this year with seven advancing to the Sweet 16, which is an event record. Most college basketball fans blame conference realignment, sports network bias and money as the reason the league was able to break the Big East's record for tournament invites.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

That might partially be true as the SEC ran through its non-conference opponents with an 89% winning percentage. Once league play began, its strength of schedule allowed even Oklahoma's 6-12 record, seven quadrant one victories and No. 43 NET ranking to earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

One small nugget that must be understood is conference expansion cannot be the lone blame as the SEC banner is being carried by schools that have been around the league for more than 30 seasons. Newer members such as Texas A&M and Missouri went a combined 1-2 during the first weekend while its newest schools, Oklahoma and Texas, were ousted in their first games.

HOGS FEED:

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• Hogs figure good news coming regarding Thiero for Sweet 16

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