Arkansas coach John Calipari might have tried to outthink himself in the final moments of his team’s SEC Tournament victory on Wednesday.
Arkansas faced lowly South Carolina in their SEC Tournament opener on Wednesday in a game the Razorbacks really needed to win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. With 2.5 seconds left and Arkansas nursing a three-point lead, Calipari said he had asked guard Johnell Davis to intentionally miss his second free throw attempt, even though it could have given South Carolina a chance at a game-tying three.
Davis did try to miss, but accidentally banked the shot in to put Arkansas up by four, and the Razorbacks wound up winning by that margin.
After the game, Calipari confirmed that he had asked Davis to intentionally miss the shot, as he felt it would leave South Carolina with no time to attempt a good shot.
“He tried to miss it. He shot it flat and banked it in,” Calipari said. “You’re up three and there’s two seconds to go, miss it. By the time they get it, there’s a second. Now the other side of that is, what if they throw one deep and bank it in? But I’ve done it before. I do some unconventional stuff.”
Arkansas was up 3 with 2.5 seconds left. John Calipari told Johnell Davis to intentionally miss the FT, which would have given South Carolina a chance at a game-tying shot
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 12, 2025
"I do some unconventional stuff"
🤔🤨 pic.twitter.com/zy3yp5zX11
The counterpoint to Calipari’s argument is a simple one. If Davis simply makes the second free throw, Arkansas has a four-point lead with 2.5 seconds left, and the Razorbacks would have to make an incredibly silly mistake to lose from that point. There are certainly circumstances where it makes sense to intentionally miss a free throw, but this was not one of them.
Ultimately, everything worked out for Arkansas, but their fans probably would not want to see Calipari attempt that strategy again.
Calipari has been embracing unique strategies throughout his entire career. Sometimes, those strategies actually turn into trends. This probably will not be one of them.
