John Calipari goes on rant after Arkansas misses big another opportunity, says team is 'a little fragile'

Calipari said he had a heart-to-heart with his team Saturday after falling to Texas A&M

Arkansas coach John Calipari had a heart-to-heart with his Razorbacks team Saturday following a 69-61 loss at No. 8 Texas A&M in which he reinforced the importance of playing with confidence and made clear that the team -- despite a hard-fought effort in defeat -- should in no way be content with any sort of moral victory as the regular season nears an end. 

"For us to bust through, we're going to have to beat somebody," he said as the team dropped its third loss in its last six outings, falling to 4-8 in SEC play. "We can say what we want, [but] I wanted to make sure they weren't happy [thinking] we're going to be OK. No. If we won that game ... we're in the tournament. If we won that game, we're in the tournament. So it's not OK to say we'll be alright."

John Calipari was NOT pleased postgame:

"IT'S NOT OKAY TO SAY WE'LL BE ALRIGHT... But I didn't wanna put that on them, because I've got some guys that are a little fragile"pic.twitter.com/OjXNepeKg2

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 15, 2025

Calipari added that he's puzzled why some players are playing tentatively and said "some guys gotta play better."

"Now, you're going to have to go get somebody else," he said of the loss, which would have been an all-important Quad 1 win to boost Arkansas' still-lacking tourney resume. 

"I didn't want to put that on them because I've got some guys who are a little bit fragile," he continued. "So I'm having to hold them accountable but keep picking them up. They're a little fragile. But when you're losing some games or not playing well, that happens."

Bracketology: Auburn is top seed with Alabama, Duke and Florida also No. 1s as NCAA reveals early bracket

Jerry Palm

Arkansas fell to 15-10 overall and 4-8 in SEC play with the loss. It was in Jerry Palm's bracket entering Saturday as a First Four team as a projected 11 seed, meaning it was among the last teams projected into the current field. 

Arkansas has plenty of chances ahead to play its way comfortably into the tourney field in a loaded SEC with six remaining regular season games. Its next chance to score a huge win comes Wednesday night as the Razorbacks travel to Alabama to face No. 1 Auburn.