John Calipari says every SEC matchup 'is a game you can lose,' jokes he worried Arkansas was 'win' for league

The SEC has been off to a hot start in men’s hoops for the 2024-25 season. From holding the current No. 1 ranking to every team in the league having a winning record and none worse than 6-3 entering Tuesday, it’s looking like there will be no quarter given come conference play.

And for a while, Arkansas head coach John Calipari was worried that his squad would be the game every else could bank on winning. But after holding on for an 89-87 win over No. 14 Michigan on Tuesday night, Calipari raved about the depth of the league and his team to ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt while on SportsCenter.

“Woof. Woof. Woof,” Calipari said, each woof more pronounced than the last. “Like, this is — they’re saying it’s like SEC baseball. Like every game in basketball, now, is a game you can lose. If you’re looking for wins, like, ‘OK, we can get this one, we can get —.” There are none. And the only problem I had for a while, I thought, ‘We were the win! Holy jeesh!’ So we’re good enough. We’re getting better. We’re learning. It’s a brand new team.”

The Razorbacks fell behind the Wolverines on Tuesday night before pulling ahead in the second half and surviving a late comeback attempt from Michigan. Five players scored in double figures for Arkansas, led by guard Boogie Fland and his game-high 20 points.

To Calipari’s point, and though it is far from the lone or best metric, the AP Poll is a good cursory look at the SEC’s dominance in 2024 so far.

As of this week’s poll, the SEC had nine teams in the Top 25, more than half the league. Another three received votes, meaning only three teams from the conference didn’t get consideration. And the SEC currently occupies half of the Top 10, with teams No. 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9.

So for now, Calipari is happy to just now be everybody else’s win when conference play comes along.