Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas men’s basketball team started the season with an 11-2 record in non-conference play, but struggled early against the best conference in college basketball this year as it logged a 1-6 start to SEC play.

Hanging by a thread in the NCAA Tournament contention race, a can’t-afford-to-lose mentality led to the Razorbacks taking down then-No. 12 Kentucky on the road last week in Calipari’s first game back in Lexington since taking the Arkansas job. Arkansas then followed it with another road win over Texas on Wednesday to move up to 3-6 against the SEC.

“There are plenty of opportunities for trap games in the league, if that’s what you want to call it,” Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “I like to call them more of a ‘maturity test.’ Are we mature enough to handle our business right now and not look ahead? I hope we are. I hope we’ve learned some lessons already this year.

“I think we’ve somewhat overlooked teams here in the past, it’s not a mature thing to do. It’s not what a team that’s got veteran leadership should be doing and I hope we don’t do it. But there are plenty of opportunities for it. A week from Saturday we get [No. 1] Auburn at home. If you’re focused on Auburn a week from now and not focused on Arkansas, you’re gonna lose.”

Calipari’s signing with the Razorbacks in April was hands down the biggest news of the college basketball offseason as he previously spent 15 years at Kentucky. In that decade and a half, Calipari reached the NCAA Tournament 12 times and it would’ve been 13 if not for COVID-19’s cancellation of 2020 March Madness.

In other words, Calipari almost always seems to find a way into playing basketball in the middle of March. However, this year will be a bit more difficult due to the rough first half against the SEC as prior to the big Texas win, ESPN Bracketology with Joe Lunardi had Arkansas as a “next four out” projection and the No. 76 overall team. On Friday, Lunardi noted the Razorbacks’ momentum and upgraded them to being the “first team out” of the bracket.

“[Calipari] is one of, if not the best recruiter in the history of college basketball,” Oats said. “And he’s one of the best motivators in college basketball. You see how he got his team ready to go into Rupp [against Kentucky], I thought they played the most inspired game of the year. They’re tough, they’re physical, they play hard on defense. He’s always had good defensive teams. He’s got talented offensive teams that look like they’re sharing the ball a lot more now than they were a few weeks ago, and it makes it tougher.

“I’ve always respected him. I was a high school coach when he was at Memphis, I studied him when he was running the dribble-drive with Derrick Rose. I thought he was very innovative at the time. I think he knows how to put his guys in positions to win, and they’re usually a hard play group that’s tough, they get on the old boards, they guard you, they turn you over. Their defense is tough, physical, aggressive and they’re going be motivated to play coming back home after getting two good road wins.”

As previously stated, Arkansas started SEC play 1-6. It’s won the past two games, but that initial victory came just a couple of weeks ago against Georgia, meaning the Razorbacks have triumphed in three of the last four contests with the loss coming by a margin of three points against Oklahoma. On top of all of this, guard Boogie Fland, Calipari’s No. 2 scorer in points per game (15.1), suffered a season-ending thumb injury in mid-January, and numerous players including guard Johnell Davis are stepping up in his place.

“When you watch them in their last four games, they’re one of the better teams we’re gonna face,” Oats said. “Their talent level is really high. Our guys have got to understand it’s not easy to win on the road against anybody, and this team is playing as well as anybody right now.”

The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 36-33 against the Crimson Tide with the first matchup occurring on Jan. 21, 1948. Alabama is 7-21 all-time on the road against Arkansas but has won the last four matchups. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats is 3-5 against Calipari since being hired at Alabama in 2019.