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Arkansas

John Calipari emphatic that he is 'not cracking' after LSU loss

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•about 9 hours•

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NCAA Basketball: Arkansas at Tennessee
Jan 4, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Arkansas was full of hope when John Calipari took over the program, making the biggest coaching splash of the offseason. Four games in, it’s nearly fallen off the rails. All four SEC contests have gone against Arkansas, with the latest being Tuesday night against LSU.

For now, there is no reason to panic according to Calipari. He revealed his postgame locker room message when speaking to the media, telling Arkansas players he is “not cracking.” Right now, the most important thing to him is moving on to the next game and finding a way to win.

“I thought we played more joy than we have,” Calipari said. “I know I coached that way. Like I said, I got to do a better job and I told them after the game, I’m not cracking. So let’s just keep going. Let’s get ready for the next one, we got a day off tomorrow, in two days. And Missouri on the road, another road game.”

In the four-game losing streak, LSU is the only team to not be ranked. Arkansas fell to Florida, Ole Miss, and Tennessee to start the year — all understandable as that trio will compete for the SEC regular season championship. But a loss like LSU, who entered Tuesday also with a 0-3 conference record — maybe sounds the alarm bells in Fayetteville.

Not Calipari, though. He appears ready to fight through the adversity given to his team in mid-January. As mentioned, Missouri is next up on the schedule. Dennis Gates‘ team is fresh off an upset victory over Florida on the road, a huge win for their respective program. You know the Tigers will want to keep momentum rolling in front of the Mizzou Arena crowd with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

To find the last five-game losing streak Calipari went on, you have to go back to the early portion of the 2020-2021 season. Kentucky started 1-6 during nonconference play and eventually missed the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas may now find itself in the same danger zone. Ahead of the LSU loss, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had them projected as the first team out of the field of 68 in his latest Bracketology.

Calipari is determined to stay strong and turn Arkansas’ season around, beginning Saturday.