The John Calipari era at Arkansas is off to a good start.
On Wednesday, No. 16 Arkansas (1-0) took down Lipscomb (1-1) 76-60 in Calipari’s first game as Arkansas’ head coach.
The 102nd season-opener in Arkansas history was among the most anticipated in program history following the surprising hire of Calipari on April 10 to replace Eric Musselman, who left Arkansas to be the head coach at USC.
Things weren’t always easy for the Razorbacks on Wednesday evening, as a scrappy Lipscomb squad hung with Arkansas throughout the contest, even taking the lead early in the first half.
But every time the Bisons managed to quiet the crowd inside Bud Walton Arena, Calipari’s wild band of Razorbacks responded in kind.
When Lipscomb opened up a five-point lead — their biggest of the game — with 10 minutes to play in the first half, Arkansas roared back with an 11-0 run. From that point on, the Hogs never trailed.
In the second half, Arkansas finally seemed to be pulling away, but a 60-45 advantage was trimmed to 60-56 with just under eight minutes to play.
Suddenly, the energized crowd inside the Basketball Palace of Mid-America was tense with worry.
Arkansas didn’t seem fazed, however, as a three-pointer by Zvonimir Ivisic spurred a 16-4 run that ended when the final buzzer sounded.
It was Ivisic who breathed life into a dormant arena late in the game, scoring eight Arkansas points in a row to lift the Razorbacks to an 11-point advantage shortly after the final media timeout.
Highly touted prospect Boogie Fland led Arkansas with 17 points, with Florida Atlanta transfer Johnell Davis and Ivisic contributing 15 and 12 points, respectively.
It certainly wasn’t a perfectly executed game by Arkansas, who looked sloppy at times and looked stagnant for much of the first half while running its half-court offense.
However, when met with adversity, the Razorbacks responded — a good sign for any team looking to make a deep run.
At the end of the day, Wednesday’s game could be one looked back on as monumental by Arkansas fans, depending on Calipari’s bottom line when he’s no longer the head coach in Fayetteville.
Arkansas’ victory is a solid one over a Lipscomb team that has the potential to challenge for an NCAA Tournament bid in March.
Next up for Calipari and Arkansas is the first true test of the regular season. Arkansas will travel to No. 8 Baylor — who was beaten 101-63 by Gonzaga on Monday — on Saturday night in one of the most intriguing early-season matchups in college basketball.
