John Calipari admits he was 'full of crap' previously arguing eight SEC teams for NCAA Tournament

During his time at Kentucky, John Calipari was regularly among the Southeastern Conference’s biggest cheerleaders.

Whether it was public pleas for the NCAA selection committee to include more than half of the then-14 team SEC in its annual NCAA Tournament, or outright criticism when the committee ultimately went a different direction, Calipari wasn’t afraid to go to bat for the league.

Of course, that approach hasn’t changed much since leaving the Bluegrass to become the Arkansas Razorbacks‘ head coach, only now he genuinely means it.

“Now we’ve got a couple of games and then we start in an absolute meat grinder. Any win is going to be a big game. … And don’t think, well you’re at home. You may play three Top 5 teams in a row, at home, and get beat,” Calipari said Saturday after a 82-57 win over Central Arkansas. “I mean, this league … when I started 16 years ago, there were two or three teams. I know Billy (Donovan) had it going (at Florida) and then we (Kentucky) had it going for awhile. But there were still only four teams, three teams.

“And I used to argue ‘we deserve eight teams’ (in the NCAA Tournament) … I was full of crap. There was no way we deserved eight teams. But I was saying it to try and help the league and help everybody.”

Based on the early season results, the SEC might not need Calipari’s cheerleading this year, with many prognosticators projecting the league will get double-digit teams into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

In ESPN’s latest Bracketology released earlier this week, Joe Lunardi currently projects the SEC will receive a NCAA-leading 12 bids in the Tournament. That includes seven SEC teams with Top-5 seeding, with Auburn and Tennessee representing No. 1 seeds, and Alabama and Kentucky at No. 2. Lunardi does have Calipari’s Razorbacks making the 68-team field among the last four in as a play-in 11th seed.

“Well you look now, 15 of the (SEC) teams, if you play on the road, that’s a Quad 1 win. Fifteen … out of 16!” Calipari continued. “And I said in New York, every one of us is looking for a win. Like you look at your schedule and say, ‘Maybe we can get this (one), maybe we can get that.’ I’m just hoping they’re not looking at us saying, ‘Whoa, we can get that one,’ and we’re not the win. But I’m telling you, there are some good teams (in the SEC), and they’re playing well.”

Arkansas opens SEC play next month with three straight games against ranked opponents, at No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 4 before hosting No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 9 Florida on Jan. 8 and 11, respectively. The Razorbacks’ SEC slate also features road games at No. 5 Kentucky, No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn, as well as home games against No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 7 Alabama before closing out the regular season vs. No. 25 Mississippi State.

John Calipari describes start to Arkansas tenure as ‘an adventure’

Two months into his first season with the Razorbacks, Calipari shared that he’s viewed the start of his time with the Arkansas program as an adventure.

“What I did at this time in my life and in my career, this was perfect,” John Calipari said last Tuesday after beating Michigan 89-87. “First page in the first chapter of a new book, and it’s an adventure.”

Now in the middle of December, Calipari has led Arkansas to an 9-2 record to this point in the season. That includes a four-game winning streak and is now 7-0 in Fayetteville Both of the Razorbacks’ two losses came at neutral sites against Baylor and Illinois.

“I’m gonna have fun and enjoy it, I’m happy,” Calipari said. “Do I look happy? [If] we lost, I wonder if I would be happy, but throughout the game I’m happy. I love coaching this group. I’ve got a job to do.”

Dan Morrison contributed to this report.