FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — At least one ESPN show host has come away impressed by No. 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks run to the Sweet 16 with a 75-66 victory over No. 2 seed St. John’s.

With Kansas and Bill Self at his first road block, Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari defeated his old friend and fellow hall of famer to advance past the first round. His old rival, Rick Pitino, stood directly in his path for a chance at the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2019.

Early on, the Razorbacks showed the nation its brand of physical basketball could match that of St. John’s and Pitino, leading 13-6 at the first media timeout in the first half. By the 11:32 mark of the second half, guard Johnell Davis’ putback swelled Arkansas’ lead to 13.

Each time it seemed like Calipari’s squad tried to shut the door on a Red Storm’s comeback, Zuby Ejiofor or Deivon Smith woudldn’t allow their team to die just yet. St. John’s forward Ruben Prey drove the baseline for a dunk to pull his team within two points with just over four minutes to go but wasn’t enough to flip the momentum and get the Madison Square Garden-lite crowd back on its feet.

Calipari’s team held on once again, just like it has in nearly every game since Feb. 1 when facing adversity. Arkansas’ selflessness turned into a team goal of making the NCAA Tournament and proving others wrong.

“They knew they finally, not at the beginning of the year, that we absolutely need each other or we’re going down together and they became one heartbeat,” Calipari said. “They figured out that, ‘If I worry more about the team and less about myself, man, I play better.’ It took time.”

Well, this team has plenty of confidence now and national college basketball reporters continue to come out of the woodwork to praise Calipari, changing course from just days, weeks and a year ago.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas even shared his thoughts about Arkansas’ second round upset. No, it wasn’t supposed to happen but it sure made people start talking and realize Caliapri isn’t done coaching teams to deep tournament runs.

Give Calipari his flowers, with all eyes on him with his shocking move from Kentucky to Arkansas, he was able to prove doubters wrong. Last year was no April Fool’s joke, he was even compared to Brittany Spears as a “has been” but there’s nothing like a good “I told you so” go wrong.

Matt Jones of On3’s Kentucky Sports Radio and his media persona smeared the anti-Calipari content everywhere for months that he was right about the former Wildcats’ coach.

“You know, everything I told you you’d learn about [Calipari], Arkansas fans, I was right,” Jones said. “They’re not going to make it, you have to get in to lose in the first round the NCAA Tournament.”

Jones changed course, congratulating his former coach for his monumental victory Saturday against one of the top-seeds in the tournament.

Without the injuries to start the year, an embarrassing loss to then No. 1 Tennessee or the 0-5 start in SEC play this season could have played out differently. Each setback was a lesson and instead of letting the bad times keep them down, they pulled together in unity to keep writing their own story.

“Each [Razorback player] in their own way were in a dark place,” Calipari said after Arkansas beat Kansas in the first round. “The battle they had was with themselves. They had to get through that first. Then, they had to figure out they needed each other. Now, they’re one heartbeat.”

Calipari is a great storyteller, he’ll even repeat it a few times to make sure its understood. While some stories are retold, it symbolic in significance to his life, career and love for coaching this game.

While his team may not be have a roster as talented at every position or boasts the same amount of depth some of his other squads in years past have, there is something special about his first group of Razorbacks. He’s proven doubters wrong, pointed a deaf year toward all the hate pointed his way and is focused on making this as special of a season that not many thought was possible 50 days ago.

“I told them this is as a rewarding a year as I have had based on how far we come,” Calipari said after his team defeated St. John’s to advance to the Sweeet 16. “I told them prior to the game, ‘How about we give ourselves a chance to make some magic? Let’s go fight like heck, play free and loose and whatever happens, happens.’”

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – John Calipari still has the magic touch. This time, though, it came with “Woo Pig Sooie” being yelled in the background. 

“We thought our season was dead about 10 times this season,” one fan blurted out as Calipari was wrapping up his postgame radio interview at center court. That fan was one of the many Arkansas faithful who waited for their coach to get done with his media responsibilities, and when the interview wrapped up and the headset came off, it was a Razorbacks party in Providence.

There were fist bumps, there were waves to the crowd, and there was a tearful embrace between Calipari and his wife, Ellen, and daughter, Megan.

The family has been a part of six Final Four trips, a national title in 2012, and countless other moments, but to go through what they’ve been through this past year in moving away from Lexington, starting the year 0-5 in the SEC, and then being the subject of a heap of criticism across the college basketball world? 

“We’ve all been through a lot the last year,” Calipari told FOX Sports. “And then you’re 0-5, and then 1-6 in the SEC. They gave us a two percent chance to make the NCAA Tournament after that – two percent! And now, not only did we make it, we advanced.” 

They did so by Calipari giving his rival a taste of his own medicine, as the Razorbacks ended Rick Pitino’s storybook season at St. John’s with a 75-66 victory over the Red Storm. You would have thought the Hogs possessed the nation’s No. 1 defense on Saturday in Providence, as Calipari’s team held St. John’s to a measly 28% shooting from the floor and 2-of-22 from beyond the arc.

“Coach [Calipari] told us there’s two dogs and one bone – we wanted the bone, it’s as simple as that,” Arkansas freshman forward Billy Richmond III said. “This group has fought through so much adversity, from 0-5 and a long season to being down, but we’ve found a way to come together. We’ve found a heartbeat.”

It was Billy – not Kadary – Richmond who made the difference in the game. The first-year forward saved the best performance of his young college career for the biggest stage, scoring 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. His biggest shot of the game came with less than three minutes remaining when he hit a dagger from the baseline to put the Razorbacks up, 68-64. After a St. John’s turnover, a drive to the rim and bucket from DJ Wagner cemented it for the Hogs. 

That proved to be a theme all afternoon for the Razorbacks, who used their length and athleticism to do something very few, if anybody, had done against St. John’s all season: outmuscle them. After closing the first half on a 7-0 run, Arkansas opened the second stanza with an 18-9 run, which included 16 points in the paint and the other two points coming at the free-throw line.

“We haven’t faced that type of length and athleticism this year,” said Pitino, who dropped to 10-14 all-time in college meetings against Calipari. “That’s not the reason we lost the game. We lost the game because we did not move the basketball enough and that led to us shooting a very low percentage. We’re a team that has to get a high number of assists to win, and we didn’t tonight.” 

Pitino’s team looked disjointed from start to finish, with Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis shooting 3-of-17 from the field and mysteriously sitting on the bench for the final 4:56 of the game. Pitino stated it was because Luis had played so many minutes and that he wasn’t going to knock one of his players, but it told the story of a nightmare in Providence after a fever pitch regular season. Kadary Richmond fouled out, St. John’s only totaled five assists, and the Red Storm couldn’t stop Arkansas from dribble penetration all game. 

“You know, everybody who played them [St. John’s] this year talked about how physical of a team they’ve been,” Calipari said. “But I reminded my players before this game: we’re physical too.”

It was just three years ago when Calipari’s Kentucky group lost to Saint Peter’s as a No. 2 seed. Just last year, his Wildcats fell to Oakland in the opening round of the Big Dance as a 3-seed. When coaching at a blue-blood program like Kentucky, the spotlight never dims. But at Arkansas, he faded into the shadows a bit, while Mark Pope took over at Kentucky and led his team to the Big Dance where they will meet Illinois on Sunday in the Round of 32.

Now, the move from Lexington to Fayetteville for all feels worth it. Calipari and Kentucky needed to split after last year and they did. The idea that he could roll into a Sweet 16 elsewhere? It was hard to visualize, as just two weeks ago, he said his Arkansas team was “thrown in the coffin, they just forgot the nails.” 

He’s out of the coffin now, and it’s on to San Francisco for one of the sport’s all-time greats.

“This is as rewarding a year as I have had based on how far we have come,” said Calipari, who advanced to his 16th Sweet 16 and first as a double-digit seed with the win. “What has made it rewarding is you want to win and advance, but the biggest thing is you want to see the kids grow. And sometimes you’ve got to go through the fire before you can see kids grow. 

“These kids, they’ve been through a ton, but I’m happy for them.”

Playing the role of an underdog is not one Calipari is familiar with. But on Saturday, his Razorbacks embraced the role and denied a St. John’s team, which had been playing as good as anyone in the nation, it’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1999. Heading into Saturday’s second-round showdown, St. John’s had four total losses on the season by a combined seven points. The Razorbacks beat the Red Storm by nine, and they did it by beating them at their own game.

The 66-year-old Calipari showed America that he’s made it through the fire and ashes. Those tears on the faces of his family have been shed for much larger accomplishments than a Round of 32 victory, but they reflected something different on Saturday night: the joy of reward after such a challenging life change last spring and the reality of what’s possible for a coach who the folks in Fayetteville were burying in January, but have restored hope in this March.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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