Arkansas basketball’s John Calipari addresses disrespectful gesture toward Louisville

Arkansas basketball head coach John Calipari found himself in a familiar rivalry setting on Wednesday night, only this time, he was wearing Arkansas colors instead of Kentucky blue.

His No. 25 Razorbacks delivered one of their most complete performances of the season, knocking off No. 6 Louisville, 89-80, in a matchup that never saw the Cardinals take a lead.

With Arkansas fans finally getting a marquee win to celebrate, the student section erupted in a mix of  “overrated” chants that echoed through Bud Walton Arena.

Head coach Calipari, however, wasn’t amused. And, moments after the game ended, he took the post-game announcement microphone to address what he felt was misplaced behavior.

“Please do me a favor. No overrating stuff. No booing please, Great, appreciate you fans.” he told the crowd, signaling that the chants were disrespectful to Louisville and counterproductive to Arkansas’ goals.

Coach Cal gets one of his biggest wins so far at Arkansas and grabs the mic with a message to the fans on the “overrated” chant. pic.twitter.com/SnaTRs3uEt

— Trey Daerr (@TreyDaerr) December 4, 2025

The victory improved Calipari to 20-8 all-time against Louisville, a record built largely during his tenure at Kentucky, and just like Calipari, any other coach would want fans to bring energy into the game, but only this time, he believed the jeers were wrongly directed, either at Louisville’s stars or at the team as a whole.

On the floor, Arkansas leaned heavily on a familiar face — Trevon Brazile, the lone holdover from the pre-Calipari era, delivered a breakout performance with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 17 in the opening half.

His soaring alley-oop dunk with 2:28 remaining halted Louisville’s late push. Calipari acknowledged that the Razorbacks’ late-game composure and praised the overall effort.

“We needed another good game like this to see where we’ve got to get better late in the game,” Calipari said after the game. “And, they made a run and made us make our plays, and we did some good stuff to make sure we finish the game off.”

With Louisville entering the matchup with one of the nation’s most explosive offensive teams, Arkansas’ win carries heavy weight. And as the Razorbacks begin to build momentum under Calipari’s second season in Fayetteville, their coach made it clear that respect matters, and bigger tests are coming.

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