An ugly finish won't cloud the final for John Calipari. Arkansas basketball held off South Carolina, likely securing its spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas head coach John Calipari speaks to forward Trevon Brazile (4), Thursday, March 13, 2025, during the second half of the Razorbacks' 83-80 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the second round of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (Hank Layton/WholeHogSports)

Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels will square off against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday afternoon with an opportunity to punch their ticket to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Beard and Co. received a first-round bye after entering the tourney as the No.

Arkansas basketball took a step toward earning an NCAA Tournament bid in coach John Calipari's debut season. Barely. The ninth-seeded Razorbacks held on to beat 16th-seeded South Carolina 72-68 Wednesday in the SEC Tournament after nearly losing a 20-point lead.

Ole Miss made certain the next game for the Arkansas basketball team in March will be the waiting game. A three pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining put the eighth-seeded Rebels over the ninth-seeded Razorbacks,

Costly mistakes in the final 30 seconds spoiled John Calipari and Arkansas basketball's comeback bid against Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.

Ninth-seeded Arkansas held on to beat 16th-seeded South Carolina 72-68 Wednesday in the SEC tournament after nearly losing a 20-point lead.

Arkansas coach John Calipari might have tried to outthink himself in the final moments of his team’s SEC Tournament victory on Wednesday. Arkansas faced lowly South Carolina in their SEC Tournament opener on Wednesday in a game the Razorbacks really needed to win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.