Arkansas basketball has made a run to the Sweet 16 after winning the SEC Tournament. Along the way, head coach John Calipari has been the biggest cheerleader for his players. He has suggested Darius Acuff Jr. could run for President and spoken of his player-first mentality.
Now, Calipari is talking about cheering on his players again, as they face Arizona on Thursday, per his conversation on the Pat McAfee Show.
“In his stage, be who you are, go for it,” Calipari said. “I've got really good players, and all I've got to do is convince them that they deserve it. … If I have to be anything other than a cheerleader in this game, we ain't winning.”
Arkansas has some phenomenal talent who has led them to this point in the year. Acuff is averaging 23.3 points per game while adding 6.5 assists. Meanwhile, Trevon Brazile is bringing in 7.4 rebounds per game, with 1.5 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 13.2 points per game. Finally, Meleek Thomas is adding 15.6 points, with 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
While this will be the toughest test of the tournament so far for Arkansas, the team is battle-tested. They have won this season over Louisville, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt, all tournament teams. They have also had close defeats early in the season to Michigan State and Houston. Calipari clearly believes he has his team prepared to go, and the next step is to believe they are going to win.
Akrnasas has made the Sweet 16 each year under Calipari so far, but will look to make it to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022 as they face Arizona on Thursday.
