Was Arkansas head coach John Calipari trolling Indiana fans Monday afternoon?
“You know we like to play anybody, anywhere, anytime,” Calipari said in a recorded statement on social media soon after a neutral site nonconference game between IU and Arkansas was announced.
The Hoosiers and Razorbacks will play on Nov. 17.
Anywhere, John?
After all, Calipari was solely responsible for the 14 year disruption of the Indiana/Kentucky non-conference series, a pause that began following a 2011 buzzer beater by Indiana’s Christian Watford that set off a court storm for the ages.
After that, Calipari refused to bring his team back to Bloomington, and college basketball suffered as a result. And when the current four-game renewal of the series that included a 2028 game at Indiana was announced a few years ago, it was as sure a sign as any that he would be leaving Kentucky soon.
He did leave, but Calipari is still not coming to Bloomington. He did, however, agree to a high quality non-conference game that is good for the sport.
On Nov. 17, anywhere for Calipari will be Madison Square Garden in New York — a venue where Indiana has played many times and regularly has a strong turnout.
And Calipari knows it.
He implored Arkansas fans to buy seats in the iconic Manhattan arena when they go on sale.
“Here’s the challenge,” he said. “With us playing Indiana, one of the top programs in our country, who travel, we gotta make sure we show the Garden we travel better than Indiana travels. They’re gonna have a ton of people there. Mark that date down, November 17 in New York City, we need to be there.”
This will be the first time Calipari has faced an Indiana team since the Hoosiers defeated Kentucky in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
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