John Calipari notched his 60th NCAA Tournament win on Thursday, beating Hawaii 97-78. Calpari’s Arkansas Razorbacks look poised for a deep run after winning the SEC Title, especially after 12th-seeded High Point downed fifth-seed Wisconsin in the first round, to clear the path to the Sweet 16.
However, even in a commanding win, Coach Cal wasn’t afraid to play with a little bit of fire. The 67-year-old, in his 34th season as a head coach is trusting his young team to carry a massive workload in the NCAA Tournament, riding with a six-man rotation in the first round.
Technically, seven Razorbacks took the floor at the Moda Center in Portland, but Isaiah Sealy played just one minute. DJ Wagner played 31 off the bench while Darius Acuff Jr., Meleek Thomas, Billy Richmond III, Trevon Brazile, adn Malique Ewin all logged more than 30 minutes.
Arkansas rolled with a six-man rotation with Nick Pringle out vs. Hawaii
Sophomore guard Karter Knox has not played since mid-February, and senior forward Nick Pringle, who started the SEC Championship against Vanderbilt, was ruled out for the first round of the tournament after showing up on the injury report for the first time all year ahead of the matchup with Hawaii. Those injuries largely forced Calipari’s hand, thrusting Ewin into the starting five for Pringle, but it was still a big gamble for Cal to roll with just six players despite holding a comfortable lead much of the way.
Coaches often cut down their rotation in March; that’s nothing new. However, going to a six-man rotation, injuries or not, is taking it to an extreme. The Razorbacks will now have to play High Point on one day's rest, and if Pringle cannot go, he’ll be asking an awful lot of his six-man rotation.
Calipari could have stolen a few more minutes for Sealy on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 freshman has appeared in 17 games this season and played more than 10 minutes five times. Beyond the six-man rotation Knox, Pringle, and Sealy, Arkansas does not have another player who appeared in at least 10 games on the roster.
Calipari may be right not to trust his unproven bench in the biggest game of the season. It paid off in the first round, but if the Razorbacks run out of gas in the second half against the Panthers, it won’t be a mystery as to why.
The good news is that when Pringle spoke to the media on Thursday, he sounded like a player who was preparing to return to the lineup for the Round of 32. So, Calipari’s gamble may have paid off completely.