John Calipari, Arkansas appear to be peaking at right time: 'We've grown a lot'

Johnell Davis isn't afraid of the big moment.

Arkansas' senior guard, who spent four seasons at Florida Atlantic and helped lead the Owls on a memorable Final Four run back in 2023, had the ball in his hands with less than two minutes remaining and the Razorbacks holding onto a 68-67 lead over Kansas in Thursday's NCAA Tournament opening-round game. A moment like this is why Davis was brought to Fayetteville, to help John Calipari's Arkansas team meet the March moment.

"I yelled at him, ‘shoot this ball!'" Calipari exclaimed. 

Davis let it fly from the right wing and drilled the biggest shot of the game, sending the Razorbacks' bench and the sea of red at a soldout Amica Mutual Pavilion into a frenzy. He went on to hit all four of his free throws, playing the role of closer in a 79-72 victory for the 10th-seeded Hogs. 

"This was very special, and the first game is always the hardest game when you're making a run," Davis said. "I tried to install it into the guys, telling them to keep fighting. When they went on their run, I kept saying, ‘it's OK because we're going to make our run too,' and we did." 

For Davis, it hasn't been the Hollywood script that he necessarily envisioned when coming to Arkansas. Frankly, this season hasn't been what Calipari or anyone in the Arkansas program envisioned, with the Razorbacks receiving a 10-seed after fighting for their lives to get into the NCAA Tournament after an 0-5 start to SEC play and an 11-7 record overall. Throw in leading scorer Adou Thiero being out for the last seven games, two months without five-star freshman guard Boogie Fland, and the bear that was the 14-bid Southeastern Conference, and it's been a roller-coaster ride for the Hogs. But this team has won six of its