John Calipari recalls thinking Arkansas was left out of NCAA Tournament: 'Could they possibly do that?'

Arkansas will be a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, entering March Madness with a 20-13 record. They’re set to take on No. 7 seed Kansas in the first round on Thursday.

When the bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday, however, there was a thought that crept into Calipari’s mind that the Razorbacks might have slipped out of the field entirely. Of course, that wouldn’t be the case and the Razorbacks were indeed in the final field.

“It came down to the last four teams and we weren’t in yet. I’m like, ‘Could they possibly do that when four teams that got in were below us in the SEC? They can’t do it. Can they do it?'” Calipari asked. “And we got in. Then I started breathing. I still haven’t thought of all the other stuff you talked about.

“We have a hard game, a hard game tomorrow. Hard game. I just want to be at my best where I’m helping these kids for 40 minutes.”

In the end, all but two SEC teams (LSU and South Carolina) were revealed to have made the NCAA Tournament field this season. A record 14 teams punched their ticket to the Big Dance, shattering the old record by three teams.

The Arkansas head coach’s thoughts aren’t entirely surprising, however. While many bracketologists had the Razorbacks well within the NCAA Tourament bubble after winning their first game in Nashville at the SEC Tournament, their postseason fate wasn’t set in stone during the regular season.

Arkansas lost its first five games to start conference play, but would go on to win eight of its final 13 regular season games against SEC competition. That final stretch, in the end, was enough for the selection committee to give the Razorbacks the nod.

Calipari noted on Wednesday that every single one of his players has gone through a “dark point” throughout the season. Howevever, his group has been awarded the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, and they aren’t taking their spot for granted.

“We have had those life lessons with this group,” Calipari said. “It’s been rewarding. It will be really rewarding if we play well tomorrow, and playing well does not guarantee we’ll win the game because they’re really good, too.”

Tip-off between Arkansas and Kansas is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET during Thursday’s opening day slate. The NCAA Tournament matchup will be broadcast on CBS.