In the renewal of a Southwest Conference rivalry, it's John Calipari leading Arkansas into Austin

The longtime basketball rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and the Arkansas Razorbacks renews on Wednesday night in the Moody Center. The return of a rivalry that featured fierce conference battles between the Horns and the Hogs was something fans on both sides anticipated for several years, but it was hard to project that the Razorbacks would travel to Austin with John Calipari leading the way.

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Calipari, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, a three-time coach of the year, a six-time Final Four coach, and the 2012 national champion, arrives at the helm of the Arkansas basketball program after a topsy-turvy carousel after the 2023-24 season resulted in “Cal” leaving his post at Kentucky for Arkansas. Calipari seemed entrenched in Lexington thanks to his almost 15-year run of putting players into the NBA and making deep NCAA Tournament runs. But he wore out his welcome with Big Blue Nation after a first-round exit in 2024, and left the Bluegrass State for the confines of Bud Walton Arena when the opportunity to succeed Eric Musselman presented itself.

Results are mixed for Calipari in year one. Despite fielding an immensely talented team, the Razorbacks are 13-8 and just 2-6 in SEC play. However, they are coming off of a win in Calipari’s Kentucky homecoming and have won two-of-three ahead of their trip to Austin.

No matter what stage Calipari may be at in his career, and no matter what has transpired for Arkansas this season, Texas head coach Rodney Terry recognized Monday that there’s always going to be talent in tow with the hall of famer and that will hold true on Wednesday night.

“Calipari has always got players,” Terry said. “He’s a hall of fame coach for a reason. He’s been one of the great all-time recruiters, but he’s always been a guy that I think has managed players really well over the years as well.”

Texas has matched up with Calipari in the past, including in 2008 when the Longhorns lost in the Elite Eight to a team that featured Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, and Joey Dorsey. The last time the Longhorns faced a Calipari team was in 2014, when the Wildcat squad that finished the year 38-1 topped Texas 63-51 in Rupp Arena. That team featured future superstars like Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Trey Lyles, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson, and Alex Poythress.

Calipari kept UK at a prominent level in the years following, but the COVID-19 pandemic functions as a dividing line in his career. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Calipari managed just one NCAA Tournament win, twice suffering first-round losses and failing to even make the field of 68 in 2021.

A fresh start at Arkansas doesn’t mean a lot has changed. Calipari brought with him Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero, and DJ Wagner from Kentucky along with FAU transfer Johnell Davis and Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo. He also added On3’s No. 2 signing class with Boogie Fland, Karter Knox, Billy Richmond, and Casmir Chavis. Fland, the highest ranked of the bunch, is out for the year. But Thiero, Wagner, Davis, and Ivisic are all key parts of a team listed at No. 47 in the NCAA’s NET Rankings.

“His team here right now is an athletic team,” Terry said. “He’s got a talented roster. He’s always got a talented roster. From top to bottom, his top eight guys are extremely talented players. They’re athletic. They play really fast in transition. They crash the glass. They put a lot of pressure on the paint.”

That No. 47 ranking creates the opportunity for Texas to earn a Quadrant 2 win as part of its NCAA Tournament resume. It also creates an opportunity for Terry to get a win over the former UNC Wilmington Seahawk in Calipari. Both Terry and Calipari have connections to UNC Wilmington: Calipari spent part of his playing career there while Terry was an assistant in Wilmington at the turn of the century.

There are more storylines for Wednesday night, including the opportunity for Texas guard Tramon Mark to face off against his former team. Mark, currently in his first season in Austin, spent the 2023-24 season with the Razorbacks playing for Musselman. Mark committed to Texas on April 7, 2024, and Calipari was named head coach at Arkansas three days later. This year, Mark is averaging 9.6 points on 41 percent shooting for the Longhorns.

Of course, a rivalry that saw an iconic moment take place during its history is returning. In 1990, Nolan Richardson left the bench during a game in Austin in protest of a foul call only to return for the overtime period to coach the Razorbacks to a 103-96 victory over Tom Penders‘ Runnin’ Horns.

Calipari is a little old school in that he still wears a button-down shirt and coat on the sidelines. It’s unlikely he’ll leave the court of his own volition in protest during this contest. However, the team he’ll have on the Moody Center floor will provide a stiff challenge for the home team Longhorns, just as any Calipari team is inclined to do.

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“They played exceptional the other night against Kentucky defensively,” Terry said. “Again, Cal’s got his guys playing pretty good right now at the right time of year.”