John Calipari has history of early March Madness upsets. Will it happen again?
John Calipari has history of early March Madness upsets. Will it happen again?
Marcus D. Smith, USA TODAYThu, March 19, 2026 at 10:06 AM UTC
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John Calipari has history of early March Madness upsets. Will it happen again?
Arkansas head coach John Calipari has his Razorbacks at the No. 4 seed line and prepared to face the No. 13-seed Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at 4:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. PT).
Although it seems like a no-brainer to have Arkansas over Hawaii, Calipari's recent history might suggest otherwise.
Calipari joined the Arkansas bench for the 2024-25 season after 15 seasons at Kentucky that included winning a national championship in 2012. However, his time in Lexington ended in heartbreaking fashion.
In his final three seasons at Kentucky, Calipari's teams lost in the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, two of them truly shocking upsets. Here's what happened:
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2024: Kentucky loses to No. 14 seed in first round
Kentucky lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024. The Wildcats were a No. 3 seed that season but fell to No. 14 Oakland by a final of 80-76.
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Calipari's team featured players such as Rob Dillingham, Adou Thiero and Reed Sheppard. That defeat marked Calipari's final game at Kentucky.
2023: Kentucky upended in second round
The Wildcats were a No. 6-seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They made it past the first round after defeating the No. 11 Providence Friars, 61-53.
Awaiting them in the second round was No. 3-seeded Kansas State, which was led by heroics from 5-foot-8, heart-over-height point guard Markquis Nowell. Nowell and K-State upended Kentucky, 75-69. Nowell scored 27 points and dished nine assists in the win.
2022: Kentucky loses overtime thriller to No. 15 seed
Kentucky was a No. 2 seed in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament when it went up against No. 15-seed Saint Peter's. It was arguably the biggest upset of the year.
The game needed an extra period to decide a winner. Saint Peter's outscored Kentucky, 14-8, in the overtime play to go on to win. The Peacocks were led by Daryl Banks III with 27 points and Doug Edert chipped in with 20.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Calipari history of March Madness upsets: Arkansas in trouble?
Source: “AOL Sports”
