Arkansas basketball bold predictions in John Calipari's first season

Arkansas basketball has a new man in charge, and a lot of excitement surrounds this year's team . John Calipari is the new coach in Fayetteville, after spending nearly two decades at Kentucky. Calipari left Lexington for Arkansas following the 2023-24 season.

The Arkansas basketball team has been nearly entirely rebuilt with Calipari in charge. Calipari was able to bring in some Kentucky players and recruits, but also used the transfer portal to fill his needs this offseason.

The squad is already learning about adversity. Arkansas basketball lost an exhibition game to TCU, 66-65 on Friday. The Razorbacks had a late lead in that game but couldn't hold on to win.

"Well first of all, give TCU credit. They fought like crazy ," Caliapri said, per Whole Hog Sports. "We took tough shots and they were trying to get fouled and get to the rim....We didn't get the kind of shots you need to get to win a game. The ball didn't go to where it needed it to go."

This Arkansas team will have to recover quickly. Here are some bold predictions about this year's squad, as Calipari begins his next journey in the SEC.

Arkansas will win at least 20 games this season

The Razorbacks have the talent and opportunities to win 20 games this season, at minimum. Arkansas basketball has several winnable games in its non conference schedule, including matchups with Lipscomb, Maryland Eastern and Pacific. There are also challenges in the non conference, including a huge showdown with Baylor in November.

The team's conference schedule includes a meeting at Kentucky, where Calipari coached for 15 years. Kentucky basketball fans certainly have that date circled on their calendars, on February 1. Kentucky doesn't play in Fayetteville this season.

Calipari believes his team is on the right track.

"I liked that some of the guys struggled because I told them, 'This is really good. Now are you going to get your swagger back or does this knock you in a hole?'" Calipari added after the TCU loss. "I mean, these kinds of games, you're either winning or learning, and we're learning."

Arkansas' roster is good enough to get to 20 wins. The team's got some diaper dandies in freshmen like guard Boogie Fland. Fland was originally going to play for Kentucky, but decided to follow Calipari to Arkansas. Fland is expected to do big things this season for Arkansas, which leads to the next prediction for this team.

John Calipari will coach a freshman to win this year's SEC Rookie of the Year

The Razorbacks have several talented freshmen, including Fland. The 6-foot-2 guard from the Bronx was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, and was highly sought by most national programs. Fland was a 2024 McDonald's All-American.

While in high school, the combo guard averaged more than 19 points a game last season. He also brought down more than six rebounds a game for his squad. Fland is already making his mark on the Arkansas team. He is in the team's starting five for the squad's exhibition games, and will likely be a starter this season for Calipari.

Fland will undoubtedly be one of the best freshmen in the SEC this season, and it is not unreasonable to think he can win the SEC Rookie of the Year honor. Calipari has coached several young freshmen stars to that award, including DeMarcus Cousins, Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns.

There's one final prediction to make about Arkansas.

Arkansas will make the NCAA tournament in Year 1 of the Calipari era

The Razorbacks will do enough in the conference and non conference schedule to make the NCAA tournament, in the coach's first season. There's simply too much talent on the floor, and too much experience on the bench, to bet against this year's Razorbacks squad.

In his first season at Kentucky, Calipari went to the Elite Eight. While that's a possibility for the team this season, there are just too many unknown variables at the moment to pick how deep this Razorbacks team can advance in March Madness.

It seems that many analysts are believers in this Razorbacks squad. Arkansas basketball enters the season ranked no. 16 in the country, per the Associated Press college basketball poll.

Arkansas basketball has had success in recent seasons, under former coach Eric Musselman. Musselman led the team to three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances from 2021-2023. The team had a disappointing season in 2023-24, posting a 16-17 record.

Arkansas opens its season on November 6 against Lipscomb.