PROVIDENCE, R.I. — John Calipari is heading to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the 16th time, and this one could be the sweetest of all for Coach Cal.
Calipari’s 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks beat longtime nemesis Rick Pitino and No. 2 seed St. John’s 75-66 on Saturday, sending their itinerant coach to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament with his fourth school.
Billy Richmond III scored 16 points and Karter Knox had 15 for the Southeastern Conference’s Razorbacks, who sent Kansas and their Hall of Famer, Bill Self, home from the “Region of Coaches” in the first round.
But the victory over his longtime rival in Saturday’s matchup of Hall of Famers was especially satisfying for Calipari, who brought the Razorbacks (22-13) back to the tournament in his first season in Fayetteville despite injuries early in the schedule that left them 0-5 to start SEC play. Arkansas will face third-seeded Texas Tech in the West Region semifinals next week in San Francisco.
“I told them, ‘This is as rewarding as a year I’ve had, based on how far we’ve come,'” he said.