There was a unique moment in the late stages of Arkansas basketball's matchup against Alabama on Saturday. Head coach John Calipari, even with his team behind for most of the game, was impressed by the comeback effort from the Razorbacks, despite the 85-81 loss to the Crimson Tide.

“The way we started the second half, I was like stunned,” Calipari said, per Connor Goodson of 247 Sports. “But then to get down like we did, and then to fight shows their deal, but I didn't think we played fearless until we got down big. And then it was, ‘Just play.' Which you have to be in that mindset. I don't know if they felt pressure like they had to win this game. I told them, ‘You don't have to win this game. Go fight and see what happens.”

Arkansas dropped to 14-9 on a season brimmed with daunting matchups. The 2024-25 schedule is not going to lighten up for the Razorbacks. They have to find a way to claw through the nation's most competitive conference. A possible at-large bid in the NCAA tournament is drifting further away with another tough loss, so it may be time to ramp up for a gritty SEC tournament, with hopes of making a March run.

Arkansas basketball flashes potential despite Alabama loss

Feb 8, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Max Scharnowski (45) shakes hands with Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari after the game at Bud Walton Arena. Alabama won 85-81.
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Going toe to toe against a powerhouse like Alabama on a given night, is always going to require a team's best. While it probably wasn't the best from the Razorbacks, Calipari was encouraged by the closing segments of Saturday's game.

“They went from, you know, ‘we've got to win this game' now you can't make a shot to ‘we have nothing to lose, just go,” Calipari said. “Now, all of a sudden we're making every free throw. We're making layups. We're making threes. I mean, the mindset, and I saw it flip. I'm in the (huddle), ‘Why are you guys sad? What is happening here?'

“This was a great experience for us, because we're either in this mode, or we're here. It's going to be hard to win any games in this league if we stay here. If we're over here, we can play with anybody in the league.”

Arkansas trimmed an 18-point lead with 7:08 remaining, against one of the fastest-playing offenses in the country. And despite the loss, the Razorbacks are showing that they can put any team on the ropes in any atmosphere.