Arkansas coach John Calipari drops massive Adou Thiero update ahead of Sweet 16
Yesterday at 01:12 PM
Arkansas men’s basketball enters its Sweet 16 game in the 2025 NCAA Tournament against Texas Tech as 5.5-point underdogs, but the Razorbacks got some good news on Tuesday.
Leading scorer Adou Thiero will be available Thursday night when Arkansas faces the Red Raiders, head coach John Calipari has revealed.
“Adou Theiro is available. He is available,” the first-year Razorbacks coach said in an appearance on the Pat McCafee Show.
I'll break this news with you..
Adou Thiero is available against Texas Tech"@CoachCalArk#PMSLivepic.twitter.com/NwyvW1YCmi
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 25, 2025
The news comes after Boogie Fland returned to Arkansas for the NCAA Tournament after missing the previous 15 games with a hand injury. Fland scored six points in each of the Razorbacks’ two tournament wins last weekend.
“Now, I played Boogie, who was available, 15, 18 minutes, but he helped us win the game,” Calipari continued. “He made the steal, he made the plays, he made the assists. Now Adou, it's a different deal because we need his toughness and his athleticism. The most he'll play, 12 minutes, maybe 15…But you gotta prepare now because we're a different team. Finally, we got a full roster.”
Thiero last played for Arkansas on February 22 and the Razorbacks are 6-2 in his absence.
“Boogie came to me…and said ‘I don't wanna hurt this team. You just tell me how you want me to play because we're playing good,'” Calipari added. “And I said, ‘listen you're gonna play off the ball instead of on the ball. Make plays. And I need you to defend and come ups with steals. I don't know how much you'll play, but be ready.’ I'll have the same talk with. Adou. Adou wanted to play. The only reason he's playing is he said 'I'm playing. I wanna help this team.'”
Even at full strength, Arkansas basketball has a tall order ahead of it in the Sweet 16. The Razorbacks haven’t beaten a team ranked as highly as Texas Tech in KenPom (8) this season, but are coming off a major upset over 2 seed St. John’s.
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