Kentucky basketball, John Calipari back in Sweet 16

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John Calipari and Kentucky basketball are back in the Sweet 16 (just not together this go-round).

Almost a year after news broke that Calipari would leave UK’s program, where he spent 15 years before leaving for Arkansas, the third-seeded Wildcats and 10th-seeded Razorbacks are set to play other teams in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament later this week.

With first-year coach Mark Pope and a new roster, the Wildcats are 24-11 and playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

Pope is the first UK coach not named Calipari to lead the Cats to a regional semifinal for the first time since 2005.

After a hard-fought victory over sixth-seeded Illinois in the second round Sunday, the Wildcats will play second-seeded Tennessee in a Midwest Region semifinal at 7:39 p.m. ET Friday in Indianapolis (TBS/truTV).

The Razorbacks (22-13) have had a roller-coaster season in Year 1 with Calipari. They have found their stride at the perfect moment and upset second-seeded St. John’s in the second round.

Calipari moved to 24-10 over another former Kentucky coach, Rick Pitino, in head-to-head matchups, and he has won nine of the last 11.

Arkansas will face third-seeded Texas Tech at 10:09 p.m. ET Thursday in a West Region semifinal in San Francisco (TBS/truTV).

Here’s what you need to know about Arkansas and Kentucky in the Big Dance:

Calipari and Pitino are the only coaches in NCAA history to advance to the Final Four with three different programs.

In Calipari’s coaching career, he has taken 24 teams to the NCAA Tournament, 16 Sweet 16s, 12 Elite Eights, six Final Fours and two-time NCAA runner-up; he won the NCAA championship with Kentucky in 2012.

The Hall of Fame coach is 59-22 in NCAA Tournament games. His 59 wins are the most among active coaches.

Calipari started his collegiate coaching career at UMass, leading the Minutemen to their first Sweet 16 in 1992. That began a streak of five straight NCAA Tournaments, three Sweet 16s and a 1996 Final Four appearance.

He started coaching at…

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Publish date : 2025-03-24 21:32:00

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