Arkansas basketball created a wild buzz amid its first SEC win under John Calipari

Arkansas basketball has a long way to go before it can be considered a national powerhouse again, but the Razorbacks took a small step toward that goal Wednesday night. John Calipari and his Razorbacks pulled off a five-game losing streak in a thrilling 68-65 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

More significantly, it was the Razorbacks’ first ever win in SEC play under Calipari, who in his inaugural season as head coach of Arkansas men’s basketball.

Arkansas gets first SEC win with John Calipari

Arkansas was down by as many as 15 points in the game against Georgia, but a fierce rally in the second half saved the Razorbacks from absorbing another loss. Junior forward Adou Thiero played the role of hero for Arkansas against the Bulldogs, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal while shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line.

Tierro made a free throw with 1.8 seconds left to give Arkansas a one-point lead before missing his second attempt from the charity stripe. However, he followed up his miss with a walkoff hit to seal the deal for the Razorbacks, who improved to 12-7 overall and 1-5 in SEC action.

Arkansas’ dramatic home win drew a lot of reaction from fans online, especially from X (formerly Twitter).

“In Ado we believe,” the official X report of Arkansas basketball common.

The wild finish to the contest also got people talking from a betting perspective.

From another commentator: “Arkansas gets its first SEC win of the season and it’s covered thanks to this very unnecessary buzzer beater 😂”

“John Calipari FINALLY gets his first SEC win at Arkansas (now 1-5). The Razorbacks came back from a 15-point deficit to beat Georgia 68-65. The line was also Arkansas -1.5, which makes the ending pretty important for some,” another social media user said published.

“This was a team of mercenaries.” The brotherhood of these players is what the Hogs have been missing all season. This team celebration of pure joy shows they may have found it.” he answered a fan.

A different post to read: “This is a great effort and boy did we need this WIN!!!!!”

The win over Georgia was also a big boost for the Razorbacks amid recent news about star freshman Boogie Fland he missed the rest of the 2024-25 college basketball season with a hand injury. Interesting, Razorbacks they were 0-5 they play Fland in the SEC this season, but managed to get a win in their first game without him.