PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Is it 2014 all over again for John Calipari?
That year, a loaded Kentucky team struggled amid high expectations and flirted with missing the NCAA Tournament before landing an eighth seed and reaching the national championship game.
Arkansas had similar struggles in Calipari’s first year in Fayetteville, but a strong finish despite injuries to stars Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero was enough for the Razorbacks to punch their tournament ticket.
And now, after this 79-72 victory over No. 7 Kansas, they are 40 minutes from the second weekend.
“Every one of us, including me, had doubts, and we all had to convince ourselves we’re going to do this,” Calipari said. “I had a card I read every morning and every night before I went to bed, and it was, ‘I’ve been blessed throughout my life.’ Forget basketball. I have been blessed.”
Arkansas, the 10th seed in the West Region, will meet the winner of No. 2 St. John’s and No. 15 Omaha in the second round on Saturday.
The win was Arkansas’ season in a nutshell: bright spots and shaky spurts.
The Razorbacks led by 11 at one point in the second half, blew that lead, then recovered late to advance by outscoring Kansas 15-4 over the final 4:55.
It started with a Fland steal and layup. Jonas Aidoo then hit two free throws to give the Razorbacks the lead for good. Johnell Davis’ 3-pointer with 1:43 to go was the biggest shot, pushing the difference to four, as part of an 11-2 burst.
Davis initially hesitated, but he heard someone from the bench bark at him to let it go.
“I yelled at him, ‘Shoot this ball!’ I’m sorry,” Calipari said.
Aidoo led the Razorbacks (21-13) with 22 points and Davis added 18, including two free throws with 10.4 seconds to go that iced the victory.
Fland, the former Archbishop Stepinac star from The Bronx, had six points and three assists in his first game since thumb surgery in mid-January.
Thiero, Arkansas’ leading scorer and rebounder, remained out with a hyperextended knee.
“We all know we have something to prove. We went through a lot of adversity, injuries, missing players, let a couple games go,” Aidoo, a transfer from Tennessee, said. “Starting 0-5 in the conference so, you know, just all those things. That helped us build our confidence, build our strength and get us ready mentally for the rest of the season.”
The loss ended a disappointing year for Kansas (21-13), which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason.
The Jayhawks started 7-0, but limped to the finish line.
Zeke Mayo scored 18 points to lead Kansas and Hunter Dickinson managed just 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
This was the lowest seed for the Jayhawks since a No. 8 in 2000, and they showed they were deserving of it.
