Arkansas head coach John Calipari is no stranger to the SEC. He's coached in it for the last 15 years. But the level of competition has jumped, and now every night in the conference is a big one.
Part of the reason for that is the investment that every team in the SEC has made into their respective programs. Calipari was at SEC Media Day on Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama, where he talked about the grind of the conference.
"I can remember being in this league, we got two or three teams in the NCAA Tournament," Calipari said. "Now all of a sudden it looks like it's going to be 10 or 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Every game we play on the road, going to be ridiculous. Our home sites in this league, ridiculous. Facilities, the investment in coaches, you've got coaches and players that all are at the top of their game."
Arkansas officially released its schedule last Thursday, and it features games against nine teams in the AP Preseason Top 25. Only one of those ranked teams — No. 9 Baylor — is outside of the conference.
The No. 16 Razorbacks will welcome some ranked SEC teams into Bud Walton Arena this season, including No. 2 Alabama, No. 19 Texas, No. 24 Ole Miss and No. 21 Florida, but they will also have to hit the road for some tough matchups as well.
Arkansas starts conference play with a road trip to Tennessee, where it will face off against the Volunteers, who are ranked No. 12 in the preseason. There's also a road game against No. 11 Auburn on Feb. 19, plus the trip to Lexington on Feb. 1, when Calipari will be the visitor at Kentucky, which is ranked 23rd.
"We have some guys that know the league, but until you go through this gauntlet that we're all going to go through, and we all went through it last year — I mean, teams got beat that, wow, I can't believe — because this is a gauntlet," Calipari said.
Still, Calipari said he's excited and ready for the opportunity to once again coach in the SEC.
"Like I said, this is an adventure," Calipari said. "I want to have fun with this. I know the challenges. I've been in this league. I know how hard it is. But this is something that I'm really excited about."
Regardless of the grueling nature of the conference, some around the country are high on Arkansas. The Razorbacks were picked to finish fourth in the SEC on Monday by a panel of SEC and national media members, behind Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee.
Two Razorbacks — Florida Atlantic transfer guard Johnell Davis and Tennessee transfer center Jonas Aidoo — were named Second Team All-SEC as well.
Other coaches know about the tough nature of the SEC, too. Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser is coaching his first season in the SEC after the Sooners made the jump from the Big 12, and he said the SEC will be the best conference in the country this season.
"This level, the SEC, there's unbelievable coaches, the talent level is tremendous," Moser said. "We've played SEC teams...But they're elite leagues. The SEC is going to take a backseat to nobody this year, and I think it's going to be the best league in the country this year."
Arkansas will get its first look at live competition Oct. 25, when the Razorbacks host No. 1 Kansas in a preseason charity exhibition at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will air on SEC Network.
