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John Calipari addresses Arkansas’ tournament hopes following setback at Texas A&M
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
John Calipari saw his upset-minded Arkansas team hang with Texas A&M for a good portion of the afternoon, but the Aggies pulled away in the second half to win 69-61.
The Razorbacks, who were a Last Four In team in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology on Saturday morning, dropped to 15-10 overall (4-8 SEC), with half of their remaining 6 games against teams in the AP Top 25 — including No. 1 Auburn. But while there’s a chance for them to get back in the picture, Saturday’s loss was an opportunity wasted.
“For us to bust through, we’re going to have to beat somebody. We can say what we want,” Calipari said after the game.
Calipari noted that amid Saturday’s loss, he wanted to stress that a win in College Station would have likely put them firmly in the tournament field. Instead, they have fallen off the bubble — for now, at least.
“I wanted to make sure they weren’t happy we were going to be okay. No. If we won that game, say it. We’re in the tournament,” he said. “So it’s not okay to say we’ll be alright. Now, you’re going to have to get somebody else.”
Arkansas, losers of 2 of their last 3, plays Auburn on Wednesday.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
