John Calipari explains his approach to harder scheduling for Arkansas

The first season of the John Calipari era at Arkansas didn’t quite start on a high note, as the Razorbacks opened SEC play 0-5. They however won eight of their final 13 conference games, finishing with a 19-12 (8-10) regular season record. Although Arkansas lost in the Second Round of the SEC Tournament, it rallied for its fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance in the past five seasons.

With a returning core of second-year stars Karter Knox and Billy Richmond along with veterans point guard DJ Wagner and forward Trevon Brazile, the Razorbacks are suddenly one of the most experienced teams in the SEC. This has led to scheduling tougher opponents in the non-conference this season, consisting of teams such as Duke (made Final Four in 2024), Illinois (Round of 32) and Texas Tech (Elite Eight).

“Our strength of schedule wasn’t bad last year, but you schedule to your team,” Calipari said this week. “Like, you don’t schedule because you just want to schedule. You’ve got to look and say ‘okay… is this too much for these guys? Are we being fair?’ So, yeah this schedule is good. We’re talking about every team that was in the Elite Eight we’re playing. We’re also looking at what some people would call ‘buy games’ against teams that were in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.”

Arkansas‘ non-conference slate wasn’t the greatest last season, as just five of its 13 opponents made the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks were 3-2 in such games, with wins over Lipscomb, Troy and Michigan and losses to Baylor and Illinois.

“Last year, the top seven teams had 90% or more of their team back,” Calipari continued. “That’s why they were the top-seven. We were the youngest team in the league. Georgia was above us, but we were right there. And everybody else filtered down. This year, we have the most returning. It’s only 45%, but it’s still the most in our league. And everybody’s lost most of their team and they’re having to do what we did a year ago.”

Along with its solid returners, Calipari and the Hogs hauled in the nation’s No. 4 ranked recruiting class this offseason. Five-star guards Darius Acuff and Meelek Thomas look to be important pieces for John Calipari‘s program this season. He is seeking his first Final Four as a head coach since 2015, when Kentucky entered the event with a 38-0 record but lost to Wisconsin.