Razorbacks validated with win at Texas, second-straight SEC road win

Anyone raising an eye brow at John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks, finding themselves suddenly parked just outside the 2025 NCAA Tournament bubble conversation, got the validation sticker on Wednesday. That's when Arkansas (14-8, 3-6 SEC) went into the Moody Center in Austin, Texas and handed the Texas Longhorns (15-8, 4-6 SEC) a 78-70 pillar-to-post defeat to earn back-to-back road wins in conference play.

The win gave an Arkansas team which started 0-6 in conference play a third win in their last four outings coming off an upset of at No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday.

Arkansas vs Texas: Everything John Calipari and the players said

Validation

"We had to validate that last win, would you say? We had to validate it," said Calipari of his team coming off an emotional win over the weekend in Lexington. "And and coming here, we did."

Led by senior transfer guard Johnell Davis' 24-points, five rebounds and four steals, Arkansas got off to a hot start offensively while stifling Texas' offense in the first half. Texas' only lead was 4-to-2 early on, but Arkansas began to pull away when freshman wing Karter Knox got a bucket in transition following a steal by Davis.

Following a three-pointer by sophomore point guard DJ Wagner, Davis later got another steal which turned into a dunk by the team's leading scorer on the season, Adou Thiero. That basket capped an 11-0 Arkansas run. From there, Arkansas never looked back.

Aggressive identity

"Arkansas came in, played really well tonight," said Longhorn coach Rodney Terry whose team had won three of four conference games coming in. "Coach Cal had his team ready to play an aggressive style defense early. They really came out, set the tone with their defense, really out physicaled us in the first half. We didn't do a great job of taking care of the basketball. I didn't do a great job of having my guys prepared to handle the kind of pressure we were gonna be facing right off the bat."

Davis was joined in double figures with Thiero's 14 and Wagner's 13. Knox and sophomore center Zvonimir Ivisic each had nine with Big Z logging a season-high 12 boards to narrowly miss a double double. He also had four blocks in the game.

"We just wanted to be really aggressive in pressure and spread them out a little bit," Calipari said. "And to be honest, guys, they missed a lot of shots that they normally make, but they missed them. I was happy they missed them. And then we rebounded pretty good."

Weathering the late Longhorn storm

The Razorbacks took a 21-point 35-24 lead into halftime only to see the Longhorns start the second half with a 9-0 run. Texas would get the game as close as five points down the stretch — thanks in part to nine offensive rebounds — but the Razorbacks managed to hold on down the stretch thanks to another solid night shooting, free throws and key defensive stops.

"That wasn't one of my best performances down the stretch, but I told them I was just trying to get out of this gym, folks," Calipari told the press afterwards. "I don't try to be fancy. I want you to just get out of the gym. I didn't care that we were up 20 and win by...it could have been two, and I'd have been fine."

The resurgence of Johnell Davis

Calipari praised Davis, who came to Arkansas from Florida Atlantic as the most coveted player in the transfer portal last year. Davis struggled through an early injury as he tried to adjust to a new role at Arkansas playing in a crowded backcourt alongside Wagner and freshman sensation Boogie Fland.

But since Fland's thumb surgery put his All-SEC freshman season trajectory on the shelf, Calipari revamped his offensive approach and the senior All-American who has twice prior led teams to deep NCAA Tournament runs, has responded by playing his best basketball in an Arkansas uniform.

"Nelly has done great stuff. He's grown up," Calipari said. "I sent them all a text that basically talked about, you have to go through failure if you're ever gonna have success. You have to walk through those gates. You gotta deal with failure, and that's what we were dealing with.

"We lost a bunch of games. I was looking like, sheesh. What's anybody lost all 18? They said, yeah. Last year, Missouri. So, well, sheesh, they're pretty good right now. But, you know, (I'm) proud of the kids. I told the TV after at halftime. I love coaching this team now. How about they struggled like that and stuck together."

Alabama on deck

The Razorbacks return home to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday where they will host an Alabama team many picked to win an NCAA Championship after finishing second to Connecticut a year ago.

"We've got a tough tough road coming up. But you know what? I don't care. Let's get on the plane, get out of here. We're not gonna be able to practice for two days. But how do I practice tomorrow and Friday and then play one of the best teams in our league?