The Arkansas Razorbacks know the job isn't finished and there's still more basketball to be played, but after going through as much adversity as the team has this season, their efforts have paid off so far.
Arkansas dealt with injuries that seemed to decimate the roster all season, and an 0-5 start in Southeastern Conference play seemed to put them "in the coffin." But as head coach John Calipari said, "they forgot the nails."
"They have been through so much," Calipari said Wednesday. "That to see smiles on their faces...for them to do what (we did) — we were 0-5. We were 1-6 and had two road games that we weren't going to win either game. And all of a sudden this team starts to right the ship."
Those two road games Calipari mentioned were at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Feb. 1 and at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 5. The Hogs got their first win in conference play on Jan. 22 against Georgia, but lost in heartbreaking fashion days later to Oklahoma.
Then, the Razorbacks went on the road and rattled off two straight wins over Kentucky and Texas. Arkansas center Jonas Aidoo said the team always had faith they could right the ship.
"We know we're a really talented team," Aidoo said Wednesday. "We just had to put the pieces together and learn how to play together on the court. We knew (Calipari) picked us out individually knowing who he wanted and all it was, was a matter of just bringing it all together and playing as a team."
After another low period saw the Razorbacks lose close games to ranked teams like Texas A&M, Alabama and Auburn, the Hogs responded once again and pulled off wins over Texas, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to close out the regular season and put themselves right back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
"Nobody thought we would be where we are right now, starting 0-5 in conference play," Aidoo said. "So just the way we all responded as a whole team, whole program. I just feel like not another team could have really done what we went through and responded and bounced back the way we did."
The rocky start to the season isn't easy for the players and coaching staff, but it's also not easy for their families, either. After the Razorbacks' wins in Providence last week, Calipari's wife, Ellen, and their daughter Megan could be seen getting emotional as they watched John's team head to the Sweet Sixteen.
"People have to understand, when the coach is going through something, so is his wife and his kids and you want to attack a coach, the wife and the kids take it personal," Calipari said. "When you try to be mean and nasty and just have an agenda what you want to do, those kids and that wife, they're watching that, too. So I think you got to see it raw with my wife and my daughter."
Arkansas guard Johnell Davis said that same passion that Calipari's family was echoed by his own.
"(It) just shows the passion they've got for us and the love and just shows how much they want us to win," Davis said.
The next step in the 10-seeded Razorbacks' improbable NCAA Tournament run is in the Sweet 16, where they'll face the 3-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders. Tipoff is set for Thursday at 9:09 p.m. CT and the game will air on TBS/TruTv.
