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.
Yo y’all. @RazorbackMBB is surprising me. I expected @StJohnsBBall to look like the more athletic team, creating problems defensively. But that’s been Arkansas thus far. Even with a frenetic base. Interesting game. Very interesting.
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.
Advertisement
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.
NEW: Went 1-on-1 with John Calipari after Arkansas upset St. John’s to advance to the Sweet 16. On how his team pulled off the victory, a reflection on the last 365 days of his life and marching on to a Sweet 16 with the Razorbacks, sharing a moment with his wife and more. pic.twitter.com/RhBXOzotfv
“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.’”
• Razorbacks sweep Gamecocks with late burst
• Former Razorbacks QB earns new NFL contract with old team
• Portal season will see significant differences at Arkansas this year
• As mid-tier of SEC gets sent packing, Calipari’s Hogs still dancing
• Teammates, coaches continue to praise Hogs’ transfer tight end
• Calipari eliminating Pitino adds special chapter to storybook season
Florida A&M basketball’s Charlie Ward recaps win vs Grambling State
FAMU basketball defeated Grambling State in what was a homecoming for former head coach Patrick Crarey II. Here’s how it went down.
Florida A&M’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will play a doubleheader against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.
Both FAMU teams are currently on winning streaks in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The women’s team has won three straight games, while the men’s team has won its last two.
Both games will be streamed on SWAC TV, with the women’s game at 4 p.m. and the men’s at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Florida A&M basketball is off to Arkansas-Pine Bluff to play a Southwestern Athletic Conference doubleheader this Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Hubert O. Clemmons Arena.
Women will open the day, tipping off at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. The men will follow at 6:30 Eastern Time.
Advertisement
Both games will stream on SWAC TV, which fans can download for free on mobile devices and televisions.
FAMU basketball teams are both enjoying winning streaks.
The Rattlers women (4-11, 3-1 in SWAC) have won three straight, last erasing a 14-point deficit to beat Mississippi Valley State on the road, 88-74.
Tahnyjia Purifoy has starred for the Rattlers, averaging 19 points over the last three outings. The 5-foot point guard was named the SWAC Impact Player of the Week on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
Advertisement
As for FAMU men’s basketball (5-9, 2-1 in SWAC), it has won two consecutive games.
On Monday, Jan. 12, the Rattlers spoiled their former head coach Patrick Crarey II’s homecoming by beating the Grambling State Tigers 91-84 in Tallahassee.
After missing nearly two months of action, FAMU guard Micah Octave is posting 14.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds. He was named the SWAC Impact Player of the Year for men’s basketball.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions women’s basketball is 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the SWAC, and most recently hosted and beat Bethune-Cookman 77-54. The Golden Lions men’s basketball team is 6-11 and 3-1 in the SWAC, most recently losing 73-61 on a road trip at Prairie View A&M.
Advertisement
Florida A&M at Arkansas-Pine Bluff ― Basketball
When: Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. (women) and 6:30 p.m. (men) ― Eastern Time
Where: Hubert O. Clemmons Basketball Arena in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Streaming: SWAC TV
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — The last racial quota for a state board in Arkansas was recently struck down by a federal judge. Rather than defend that quota, the state actually agreed with the plaintiff suing to remove it.
Former University of Arkansas professor Jay Greene, a white man, sued the state in October over a law mandating that one member of the Arkansas Ethics Commission be of a minority race.
Greene’s attorneys say he had previously put forward his name for consideration for the commission.
“But because this statute states that there must be a member of a minority race on the commission, when the opening came up, he was disqualified due to no reason other than his race. It’s just a straightforward racial quota. And the Supreme Court has said that essentially the government can’t do that,” said Pacific Legal Foundation Sr. Attorney Caleb Trotter, who represented Greene.
Advertisement
The Ethics Commission’s racial quota was part of the 1991 initiated act that established the body. That’s likely why it survived longer than other race quotas, as the legislature couldn’t remove it from Arkansas’ Constitution without a two-thirds vote because the five-member commission was created by a vote of the people.
Each seat holder on the commission is appointed by a different state official, one by the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker, Senate president pro tempore, and attorney general.
When commission member Miguel Lopez’s term came to an end last summer, the law demanded that his replacement be of a minority race because he was the only non-white commission member at the time. Attorney General Tim Griffin didn’t appoint a replacement, refusing to comply with the race quota.
Lopez has remained on the commission since.
Griffin’s refusal perplexed then-director of the commission, Graham Sloan.
Advertisement
“The people of the state of Arkansas said they wanted a five-member board and that they wanted certain people to be represented, certain groups to be represented on that board. It’s never proven to be a problem for the commission. You know, and I’ve been here more than 25 years and there’s never been a problem,” Sloan told KATV in June.
“Minorities constitute 20 percent of the Arkansas population. And so a law that would say that there’ll be one member of a minority race on the board, you know, it gives that 20 percent of the population. It gives them representation on the board,” Sloan said.
Last week, state officials with appointing power sided with the plaintiff suing them and filed a joint motion alongside Greene asking the court to declare the race quota unconstitutional, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
“And traditionally, you would have either a trial or briefs and then the court makes a decision weighing both arguments,” Trotter said, “but here we had all five state officials agreeing with our position that this racial quota for the Ethics Commission is unconstitutional.”
The next day, the court permanently eliminated the race quota.
Advertisement
“No longer does the attorney general or any other state official have to consider someone’s race in making these appointments,” Trotter said, “and that’s a great day for the Constitution. It’s a great day for equality under the law and for all Arkansans.”
Jeff LeMaster, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told KATV that Griffin plans to announce a new appointment to the commission soon.
The Arkansas Supreme Court released opinions Thursday. The court’s ruling and the names of the cases are reprinted here. The full opinions and other court proceedings, including per curiam decisions, orders and submissions, can be found on the internet at arcourts.gov.
PROCEEDINGS OF JAN. 15, 2026
CHIEF JUSTICE KAREN R. BAKER
Advertisement
CV-24-604. Eureka Gun and Pawn, LLC; and Keeling Grubb v. The City of Eureka Springs via Robert D. Berry, in His Official Capacity as Mayor of Eureka Springs, from Carroll County Circuit Court, Western District. Appeal dismissed without prejudice. Womack, Webb, and Bronni, JJ., concur.
