John Calipari calls out officiating prior to matchup vs Jaylin Williams

John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats are preparing for another huge match up on the hardwood. Their next opponent is the No. 18 ranked team in the country, the Arkansas Razorbacks. And at the Wildcats pregame press conference on Friday, Wildcats heac coach John Calipari talked about what his star forward, Oscar Tshiebwe, must do to stay out of foul trouble against the Razorbacks.

Arkansas has a star big man of their own in sophomore Jaylin Williams, who has a knack for drawing offensive fouls against opposing players. He will likely be Tshiebwe’s primary defender in their Saturday matchup. But instead of praising the opponent’s skill to draw the foul, Calipari called out the officials.

“Charge or a block or flop or you know I mean he doesn’t lower his shoulder. It’s not how he plays. And you just have to count on people knowing is that a charge, a block, or is it a flop? But I’ll say this, he has really improved; he’s gotten so much better. Skill with the ball, (his) ability to shoot, you know. He’s really gotten better, really impressed with him,” said Calipari.

Saturday’s matchup will go a long way in deciding not only the possible seeding for the SEC tournament, but also for the Men’s National Championship tournament. This top-25 matchup is scheduled for tipoff at 1:00 p.m. CST from Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, AR.

Calipari critical of long replays

A big part of college basketball has become officials taking time to go review plays on a court-side monitor. Whether possession of the ball or grading certain fouls is at stake, long reviews have become part of the game — and it’s frustrating Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari.

Calipari was asked about a long review during their matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide, he went on a bit of a rant, talking against how long it took. He said the call the officials were making was obvious to everyone and taking four minutes to figure it out affected his players.

“I’m not trying to leverage it, it’s frustrating,” Calipari said. “I will tell you that if you wonder why I went crazy the other game is because everybody saw the slap in the face. We all saw it. KB saw it. Camera crew saw it. What took you three minutes? And then you go meet with the coach. My guy is at the free-throw line waiting to shoot a free throw and you’re having a dialogue about whatever. Couldn’t have been that play because it was a face slap. That’s why I got upset. Let’s play. Let’s go. Let’s play. And then all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.