NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari expects a more difficult challenge from Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament championship after the Hogs obliterated the Commodores during the regular season.
The No. 3 Razorbacks (25-8) will face the No. 4 Commodores (26-7) with a trophy on the line Sunday, Mach 15. Arkansas needed overtime to eliminate a Cinderella Ole Miss squad in the semifinals, while Vanderbilt pulled off a stunner by sending top-seeded Florida home before the tournament’s final day.
The Hogs led by as many as 31 points in a 93-69 blowout over the Commodores on Jan. 20.
“(Tyler) Tanner is back to being what he was. He took a couple weeks off. Now all of a sudden he’s back to even being better,” Calipari said.
“Whatever happened in the first game means nothing in this game, nothing. Just like what happened to us with Oklahoma or Mississippi the first time had no bearing on this game. It’s going to be a hard game.”
Arkansas held Tanner, who was named First Team All-SEC earlier this week, to 11 points and three turnovers in the regular-season matchup. The Vanderbilt point guard scored 20 and had eight assists against Florida.
Arkansas will wear its home whites as the higher seed, but the Commodores hope to have a home-court advantage in Nashville. Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington called on his team’s fans to pack Bridgestone Arena after it clinched a spot in the championship.
Calipari hopes he can bring his first trophy back to Arkansas after winning the SEC Tournament six times with Kentucky.
“It’s more about our state. It’s more about the university, the athletic department. We’re bringing everybody together,” Calipari said. “I’ve always said, wherever I go, I want a thousand people to say, ‘Without me, Cal couldn’t have done that.'”
The Hall of Fame coach also hopes a victory improves Arkansas’ standing on Selection Sunday. There was a consensus the Razorbacks would be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament before this weekend.
“Can we improve our seed? I think so. If we can’t, then why are we having this tournament, especially on Sunday? If one of us does something and doesn’t move, I just don’t know why we still do this,” Calipari said. “But I’m not a big tournament guy. Never have been.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him@jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
