Same Old Cal: Arkansas' Calipari Not Backing Off Relying On Freshmen In Nil, Transfer Portal Era

John Calipari embraced the one-and-done era like few college basketball coaches, becoming one of the best annually at bringing in talented freshmen and routinely getting them to Final Fours before shipping them off to the NBA.

The formula served him well during his 15-year run at Kentucky that ended after last season , as NIL money and the transfer portal skewed rosters older and created more parity.

But Cal is up to his old tricks in his first season at Arkansas.

"I'm kind of back to the roots of being the underdog," Calipari said before the Razorbacks' NCAA Tournament first-round win over Kansas last week.

And now, he has the 10th-seeded Razorbacks back in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 following their win over second-seeded St. John's and Calipari's longtime rival Rick Pitino. The Razorbacks face West Region No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Thursday in the regional semifinals.