John Calipari makes surprising admission following Arkansas win at Texas

After a difficult start to SEC play, head coach John Calipari has his Arkansas Razorbacks team playing well, winning three of their last four games. That now includes a road win over the Texas Longhorns where the Razorbacks avoided a comeback attempt in the second half.

Following the game, Calipari surprisingly admitted that he had done his best coaching job in the second half of the game. Because of that, he was just trying to get his team out of the game with the win.

“We from the beginning of the game just went after them a little bit,” John Calipari said. “And after they settled in it was anybody’s game. I did tell my team after, that wasn’t one of my best performances down the stretch, but I told them, ‘I was just trying to get out of the gym, folks.’ I wasn’t trying to be fancy. I was just, let’s get out of the gym.”

Arkansas went into halftime with an 11-point lead. Then, they jumped out to a 15-3 run to open the second half, extending the lead to 50-27. That was when Texas started to battle back, cutting the lead to five points at its closest in the final minute of the game.

“I didn’t care that we were up 20 and what did we win by? [Eight]. It could have been two and I’d have been fine. Just get out of the gym,” Calipari said. “So, they were great.”

Arkansas outshot Texas in the game, making 44 percent of shots from the field compared to 34.4 percent of shots made by the Longhorns. However, Texas was able to outrebound Arkansas, snagging 41 compared to 36 rebounds. That included 13 offensive rebounds compared to just three from the Razorbacks.

John Calipari did see his team win the turnover battle, though, forcing two more turnovers than the Longhorns did. That, in a game where the two sides shot a combined 62 free throws, combined to be enough for Arkansas to hold onto the win.

That win came off the back of an emotional road win against the Kentucky Wildcats. That game saw Calipari and several players return to their former program and earn an upset win. 

Next up for Arkansas is a very challenging home game on Saturday night against the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are second in the current SEC standings. It’s the kind of game that, for many, it would be understandable to look forward to in a game that felt under control at one point.