Head coach John Calipari and the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks bested the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks 79-72 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, achieving his first March Madness victory since 2023 and his first at the helm of the Hogs. There was a ton of pressure riding on Calipari, given his recent lack of success in the tournament, resulting as the main deciding factor as to why he left the University of Kentucky in the first place. Arkansas would be without junior forward and team-leading scorer Adou Thiero, but prior to the contest, the Razorbacks revealed some positive news, publicizing that freshman guard Boogie Fland, who was originally listed as out for the season, would be available for March Madness.
Fland suffered a hand injury back on Jan. 11 in Arkansas’ 71-63 defeat to the Florida Gators, one that would later require surgery on his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). Prior to his injury, Arkansas was 11-5 and 0-3 in SEC play, not sitting in the spot it would have liked to, but once the freshman was sidelined, the Razorbacks surged and made a push to earn a bid to the big dance.
It was unknown how Fland’s return would impact the Razorbacks, but in Thursday night’s first round tilt, the Hogs were able to get the job done and move on to the second round. In the win over the Jayhawks, Fland scored six points and also manufactured one rebound, three assists and three steals, not his best showing, but enough to impact the outcome of the contest.
Fland shot just 2-of-7 (28.6%) from the field and 0-of-4 from deep, proving to be a little rusty in his first go-around in over two months, however, his teammates and Jonas Aidoo more specifically, were able to lead the way. Before he went out with the injury, Fland was averaging 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists while shooting an average of 39.1% from the field and 36.5% from downtown. Calipari and the Hogs will look to advance to the Sweet 16 on Saturday, March 22 when they take on fellow legendary head coach Rick Pitino and the No. 2 Saint John’s Red Storm.
A battle between two coaches that both coached and won a National title at the University of Kentucky. That battle can be viewed on CBS at 12:40 p.m. CT.
