Fans go bonkers as Arkansas takes out St. John's in shocking March Madness upset
03/22/2025 07:34 PM
The end was not pretty for John Calipari at Kentucky. He left Lexington with the reputation of being a March Madness underachiever and headed to Fayetteville, Arkansas with plenty of public skepticism surrounding him. Now, he and his Razorbacks are sprinting to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament after vanquishing No. 2 seed St. John’s.
After grinding out a tough game against Kansas in Thursday’s opening round, Arkansas held off the defensively elite and gritty Red Storm on Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island. Calipari’s guys allowed their opponent to shoot a measly 28 percent from the field in the 75-66 upset win. The SEC squad struggled offensively in its own right– 42.9 field goal percentage and 2-of-19 from 3-point range– but it made timely buckets and showed amazing composure.
Billy Richmond III scored a team-high 16 points off the bench while also grabbing nine rebounds. Calipari bests all-time great Rick Pitino two days after he bested another legend in Bill Self. This career resurgence comes at the expense of many brackets around the country. It is also a firm reminder that the SEC was possibly the best league in NCAA history during the regular season.
Fans had plenty to say after this huge standalone NCAA Tournament battle. “How many brackets just got busted,” @ColtonFant commented. “Coach Cal in that mode!” @jp4ss3 declared. “Is it really an upset when you're the better team clearly?” @LogiconFire73 asked. “9th place sec team beat the big east champion lol,” @fully511 joked.
Arkansas is stealing headlines in March Madness after 13-loss season
Arkansas basketball is not a plucky underdog in the traditional sense, given their wealth of talent, but they have overcome significant adversity this season. Crafty point guard Boogie Fland missed two months with a thumb injury before returning for the NCAA Tournament, and leading scorer Adou Thiero has been inactive in the team’s last eight games due to a hyper-extended knee. The Razorbacks barely kept their March Madness hopes above water, finishing tied for ninth place in the SEC standings and getting assigned a 10 seed in the Tournament.
But the potential has always been present. Arkansas earned crucial wins over Missouri and Mississippi State to punch its ticket to the Big Dance and pushed Ole Miss to the brink in the SEC Tournament. Everything is coming together now, though. John Calipari and the Razorbacks will next face either Texas Tech or Drake in the Sweet Sixteen, while St. John’s tries to appreciate what it accomplished before this disappointing performance.
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