Many were not happy with how the game for ages, at least for the coaches involved, was being called. In fact, during the game, CBS color analyst Steve Lappas could be heard disagreeing with a whistle, “I’ll tell you, Ejiofor has to be really, really careful now. Wow. In this kind of game, I’m sorry — that’s not a good call.” Then, in an Arkansas’ attempt from beyond the arc, Ejiofor was whistled for a foul for battling the Razorbacks’ Jonas Aidoo. Safe to say, the officiating crew got a target on its back yesterday.
One social media user wrote, “This officiating is absolutely putrid.” Well, one would certainly feel things to be that way when they tuned in to watch an exciting game but instead got the whistleblowing a total of 44 times.
“That Arkansas St. John’s officiating was atrocious. Game was over officiated given how physical game was expected to be,” came another comment. A No.1 defensive team on one side, a team known for size and athleticism on another, it was projected to be a physical game from the get-go. Pitino had predicted the threat early on, saying, “Athleticism-wise, we have not seen this this year.” It was a game of rivalry and high stakes and the officiating just wasn’t in accordance. But while a few viewed this from a bird’s view, others couldn’t help but pick officiating bias.
One individual wrote, “If your non biased watching this st John’s game with Arkansas this has to be the worst one-sided officiating game I’ve ever seen ridiculous to watch the NCAA tournament gotta do better than this all the calls are going against Arkansas.”
Well, the calls stood 20-24 in favor of St. John’s– little difference. They also got more free throws (31) than Arkansas’ (27). But the calls weren’t always fair and as highlighted by Sportswriter Andrew Hutchinson, the Arkansas head coach was not happy during certain moments in the game. One X user commented, “Calipari has the right to be pissed. Arkansas isn’t getting the same whistle as St. John’s right now, making it impossible to match physicality. Frustrating.”
Calipari allegedly received some lack of respect from the referees. However, it would be nice knowing that the fans at least had his back. One social media user added to those messages of support by writing “Incredible. Adversity. Officiating. Hostile environment. Razorbacks responded with punch after punch after punch. So much grit and toughness. GIVE JOHN CALIPARI HIS FLOWERS.”
Well, indeed. Only weeks ago, was he being asked to retire as the Razorbacks fell as a bubble team. But with an injury-ridden roster back to strength, Calipari showed what he was capable of. One fan also wrote in favor of Calipari’s win, “Unfollow me are whatever. But I could not be more happy for John Calipari. This man just overcame so much hate and doubt. All while UK invited back Pitino. And he just beat Rick with his best player out. What a revenge tour for Ole John!! Congrats.”
No doubt, John had to go through a lot in the last few seasons at Kentucky. Moving to Arkansas also did not entirely help as with every defeat, he would get called out for not being good enough anymore. But he stayed with his team, proving along the way that sometimes old habits can be beneficial. In the postgame presser, Calipari was all praises for his team, “I told them, ‘This is as rewarding as a year I’ve had, based on how far we’ve come.’”
There was certainly no lack of supporters for the first-year HC in Fayetteville as one person wrote, “Razorback fan here and it’s an honor to have Calipari leading the Hogs. Been a hell of a year. I mean, it always is with Arkansas 😂 but man, it sure is nice having a hall of fame coach on the sideline this time.”
The Razorbacks went 4-1 in its last 5 games of the regular season and defeated two coaches who share a combined win count of 1700 and 4 national titles in 48 hours of the NCAA tourney. Odds were stacked against him time and again, but he has managed to come this far for the first time since 2019. Officiating wrongs or not, Calipari has his army and he his marching ahead unfazed.
