Arkansas basketball sparks wild buzz amid first SEC win under John Calipari
Yesterday at 02:53 AM
Arkansas basketball has a long way to go before it can become considered a national powerhouse again, but the Razorbacks took a small step toward that goal on Wednesday night. John Calipari and his Razorbacks pulled off a thrilling come-from-behind 68-65 win over the Georgia Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, snapping a five-game losing skid.
More notably, it was the Razorbacks’s first win ever in SEC play under Calipari, who is in his inaugural season as head coach of Arkansas basketball.
Arkansas basketball gets first SEC win with John Calipari
Arkansas was down by as many as 15 points in the Georgia game, but a furious rally in the second half saved the Razorbacks from absorbing yet another loss. Junior forward Adou Thiero played the role of the hero for Arkansas against the Bulldogs, as he finished the game with a team-high 17 points to go with 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal while shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
Thiero made a free throw with 1.8 seconds left to put Arkansas ahead by a point before missing his second attempt from the charity stripe. However, he followed up his miss with a putback bucket to seal the deal for the Razorbacks, who improved to 12-7 overall and 1-5 in SEC action.
ADOU THIERO WITH THE EXCLAMATION TO COMPLETE THE 15-POINT COMEBACK WIN
Arkansas takes down Georgia for its first SEC win under John Calipari @RazorbackMBBpic.twitter.com/di4jPAtJCK
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 23, 2025
Arkansas’ dramatic win at home sparked lots of reactions from fans online, particularly from X (formerly Twitter).
“In Adou we trust,” the official X account of Arkansas basketball shared.
The wild ending to the contest also had people talking from a betting perspective.
From another commenter: “Arkansas gets its first SEC win of the season and covered thanks to this very unnecessary buzzer beater ”
“John Calipari FINALLY gets his first SEC win at Arkansas (now 1-5). The Razorbacks came back from down 15 points to beat Georgia 68-65. The line was also Arkansas -1.5, which makes the ending quite important for some,” another social media user posted.
“This was a team of mercenaries. The brotherhood of these players is what the Hogs have been missing all season. This team celebration of pure joy shows that they may have found it,” chimed in a fan.
A different post read: “This is a great effort and boy did we need this WIN!!!!!”
The win over Georgia was also a big morale-booster for the Razorbacks amid the recent news of star freshman Boogie Fland missing the rest of the 2024-25 college basketball season with a hand injury. Interestingly enough, the Razorbacks were 0-5 in SEC play with Fland this season but managed to score a win in their first game without him.
The post Arkansas basketball sparks wild buzz amid first SEC win under John Calipari appeared first on ClutchPoints.
