Arkansas’ John Calipari pokes fun at NCAA Committee over cross-country trip

Arkansas coach John Calipari is intimidating as they come on the hardwood. But off it, Calipari can still crack a few jokes here and there.

Calipari steered the Razorbacks to the title in the SEC Tournament after beating Vanderbilt, 86-75, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Sunday. They earned a fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament.

While the 67-year-old Calipari, who will appear in March Madness for the 25th time, is very much aware of their schedule, he joked that he didn’t know where they are playing in the first round in the West Regional. They will face Hawaii in Portland.

“Are we in the country? Are we in the United States? It’s one of those things, I thought maybe they’d put us in another country,” said Calipari on ESPN.

“I thought Oklahoma City was a couple of hours away. And are we playing Hawaii in Hawaii? I don’t even know where we’re playing.”

It appeared that Calipari took a subtle dig at the selection committee for putting them in Portland, which is over 2,000 miles away from Arkansas.

As for the other four seeds, Kansas is playing in San Diego (East Regional), Nebraska is playing in Oklahoma City (South Regional), and Alabama is playing in Tampa (Midwest Regional).

In his second year at Arkansas, Calipari led the team to a 26-8 record, including 13-5 in the SEC.

He is looking for his second national title since leading Kentucky to the mountaintop in 2012. The Wildcats had Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, and Terrence Jones that year.

The Razorbacks are also looking for their second national crown since winning it in 1994 under Nolan Richardson. The team featured Corliss Williamson, Darnell Robinson, and Corey Beck.

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