Sweet Victory for Calipari, Razorbacks Over No. 2 St. John's

Freshmen Richmond, Knox top scorers as Arkansas is vindicated after frustrating season

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile (4) celebrates during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the St. John's Red Storm at Amica Mutual Pavilion. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — How sweet it is! When it once appeared coach John Calipari's first Arkansas Razorbacks team had a chance to finish 16th in the 16-team Southeastern Conference, they're now headed to the Sweet 16.

The Hogs were ridiculed by media and much of the college basketball world just two months ago while in the midst of an embarrassing five-game losing streak but are now the darlings of the NCAA Tournament.

Call it redemption. Call it vindication. Call those Hogs, Arkansas fans. After a year of frustration and doubt about whether hiring Calipari was the right choice, it's time for Razorback rooters to celebrate.

The Hogs won for the second time in three days against a Hall of Fame coach with a higher-seeded team, knocking off No. 2 seed St. John's on Saturday afternoon 75-66.

Arkansas topped the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks and coach Bill Self on Thursday, 79-72, to advance to the round of 32.

Waiting confidently was coach Rick Pitino and his St. John's Red Storm, who many felt were good enough to win the national championship.

St. John's Red Storm coach Rick Pitino and Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari shake hands as the Razorbacks won a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Not so fast, said Calipari, also a Hall of Fame coach who thrives on a challenge and a cause. In this case, he had both.

The challenge was getting his team to improve enough during the season to compete and peform at the level it takes to reach the Sweet 16.

The cause was winning in the NCAA Tournament. Sounds simple but failing to do just that is why he's coaching Arkansas and not Kentucky.

Calipari commanded the Kentucky Wildcats program the previous 15 years while reaching eight sweet 16s, seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours, and winning the 2012 national championship.

He hadn't made it to the Sweet 16 since 2019, however, and had lost to a 15 seed St. Peter's in 2022 and a 14 seed Oakland in 2024, both in the first round of the Big Dance.

Now, his underdog Hogs are the belle of the ball, the disrespected team that is creating March Madness.

Calipari's wife and daughter were in tears in the final seconds of the win over St. John's, exemplifying how much this win means to the family after that rocky road that led him to Fayetteville.

The Hogs advance to the West Region semifinals in San Francisco, where they'll play Thursday. They might be an underdog again, but by now everybody knows Arkansas is good enough to beat anyone.

The Razorbacks (22-13) frustrated St. John's (31-5), in particular its leading scorer R.J. Luis Jr., who was benched by Pitino several times, including the last five minutes with the game on the line.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Billy Richmond III (24) blocks a shot St. John's Red Storm guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) during the first half at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Hogs held the second-team All-American to just nine points, half his average, on 3-of-17 shooting. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Arkansas' stingy defense held Luis, the Big East Conference Player of the Year, to just nine points on 3-of-17 shooting. The second-team All-American averages 18.2 per game,

The Hogs deserve credit for their guts and determination in standing toe-to-toe with the Red Storm's tough, physical defense and relentless crashing of the offensive boards.

Arkansas' big men -- Jonas Aidoo, Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic -- got in foul trouble in the first half but their length and shot-blocking prowess bothered Luis and his teammates, just as Pitino feared.

The Hogs led 14-6 just 4:21 into the fray, fell behind late in the first half but led by three after Boogie Fland's last second drive for a bucket.

St. John's stayed close virtue of their 14 offensive rebounds -- double what Arkansas managed -- which helped overcome their dreadful 24% shooting, compared to the Hogs' 38%.

Many of those fouls against the three Arkansas big men came while they failed to contain the Red Storm's 6-foot-9, 240-pound bruiser Zuby Ejiofor, who scored 16 in the first 20 minutes, already surpassing his game average of 14.2.

The Hogs limited Ejiofor a bit in the second 20 minutes as he finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Eight of those boards were on the offensive end and made 9-of-11 free throws.

Despite Arkansas' slim lead at intermission, there is no way St. John's was in a panic. The Jonnies trailed 11 times at half and won nine of them. They're also among the top four in the nation when it comes to second-half scoring margin.

But these Razorbacks were not to be denied. They added on to their 7-0 run to end the first half and turned it into a 14-1 spurt to seize control and quiet the largely St. John's crowd at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

The lead peaked at 55-42 with 11:42 remaining. St. John's got within a bucket three times near the end, the first with 6:11 on the clock, but Arkansas' defense held.

Arkansas finished it off with a 9-2 run that cemented Calipari's legacy as a coach who's led four different programs to the Sweet 16, a guy who's reached three national championship games.

He's been known as the coach who started the "one-and-done" trend, landing 5-star recruits who lead his team for a season before leaving for the NBA.

Well, his three highly recruited freshmen all played well against St. John's. Billy Richmond III led the Hogs in scoring with his career-best 16 points and nine rebounds.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari talks to forward Billy Richmond III (24) during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the St. John's Red Storm at Amica Mutual Pavilion. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Karter Knox had 15 and six boards, and set the tone early by scoring seven of the Hogs' first 11. Fland added six points, four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes, just his second game after missing 15 due to thumb surgery.

Now the Hogs hope to get Adou Thiero, their leading scorer, back in uniform by Thursday's game. He practiced Friday but has missed the last eight games.

Which brings to mind the question: Just how far can Calipari's Hogs go in the NCAA Tournament? I say they've got a great chance to reach the Elite Eight.

If so, the likely opponent is the SEC Tournament champion, the Florida Gators, the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

Arkansas lost to the Gators by eight back on Jan. 11 in Bud Walton Arena. Both are playing better than they were then, but the Hogs are a totally different team.

For that, the players get a lot of credit. So does Calipari, who has proved to the basketball world he's still got what it takes to be get the job done.

His approach with this team has been magnificent. He's been supportive, remained confident and cool. Now the Hogs are celebrating their 15th trip to the Sweet 16, one fewer than their coach.

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks Somehow Find Way to Sweet 16, Downing St. John's

• Davalan becoming anchor in Razorback line-up

• Pitino respects Razorbacks, but not worried about Calipari

• Root Bounces Back with Complete Game; Hogs Stifle Gamecocks

• Kozeal hoping for full circle Omaha moment with Razorbacks

• Calipari pushes right buttons In Arkansas' NCAA Tournament win over Kansas