MBB NCAA Tourney Preview: Arkansas vs St. John’s

March 21, 2025

Who: #10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks (21-13) vs #2 seed (fifth-ranked) St. John’s Red Storm (31-3)
What: For the second-straight game, Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari will go against another Naismith Hall of Famer, this time facing Rick Pitino.
When: Saturday – Mar. 22 – 2:40 pm (ET)/1:40 pm (CT)
Where: Providence, R.I. – Amica Mutual Pavilion (11,648)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: CBS / Watch CBS APP (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn)
– NCAA Game Center: Video and Live Stats
– Razorback Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Westwood One: Listen Online (Chris Carrino and Jordan Cornette)
– Sirius/XM – Westwood One Broadcast: Sirius: 209 / XM: 202 || SXM App Channel 964
– Arkansas Gameday App
– Live Stats

– Arkansas Game Notes
– St. John’s Game Notes
– SEC Notes/Stats
– NCAA Tournament Bracket

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A first-round win over Kansas propelled 10th-seeded Arkansas to the NCAA second round to face the #2 seed and fifth-ranked St. John’s Red Storm. The game featuring a pair of Naismith Hall of Famers is set for Saturday (Mar. 22) in Amica Mutual Pavilion at 2:40 pm (ET)/1:40 pm (CT) on CBS.

All three Razorback-Red Storm meetings have come under identical circumstances with the teams squaring off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. St. John’s won the first meeting, 68-65, in the 1985 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. Arkansas won the second meeting, 80-74, in the 1993 NCAA Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Razorback head coach John Calipari has only face St. John’s once as he led top-ranked Kentucky to an 81-59 victory in 2011. However, Calipari and Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino have faced each other 23 times as college coaches. Calipari leads 13-10. They also met six times as NBA head coaches and each won three times.

Calipari and Pitino have met four times in the NCAA Tournament and each have won twice. Each is 1-1 versus the other in the Final Four and each is 1-1 versus the other in the Sweet 16.

The winner of Arkansas-St. John’s game will advance to the Sweet 16 and West Region semifinals in San Francisco next week.

NOTES:

Arkansas improved to 4-1 all-time in Providence at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Razorbacks played the Providence Friars twice in Providence and went 1-1. (Lost, 87-81, at Providence on Dec. 23, 1999 and Won, 84-72, at Providence in the 2019 NIT First Round). Then, in 1996, the Razorbacks (#12 seed) went 2-0 in the 1996 NCAA East Region 1st and 2nd Rounds to reach the Sweet 16. (Beat #5 seed and 18th-ranked Penn State, 86-80, on Mar. 14, 1996 and Beat #4 seed and 20th-ranked Marquette, 65-56, on Mar. 16, 1996.)
John Calipari is now 3-0 as head coach when playing in Providence. In 1996 while at UMass, Calipari led the Minutemen to 1st & 2nd round wins in the then-called Providence Civic Center over UCF and Stanford, respectively, en route to a Final Four appearance. Ironically, after those wins, UMass beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16 then lost to Kentucky in the Final Four.
Johnell Davis made four 3-pointers versus Kansas. He has now hit a 3-pointer in 100 career games. He had only made four total 3-pointers in his first six NCAA Tournament games combined.
Trevon Brazile has four double-doubles over the last five games.

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X.