“Gonna lead this team back to the bubble”: NCAA analyst credits John Calipari on utilizing Arkansas star’s aggressiveness in win vs Texas

John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks have picked up two tough wins in a row against No. 14 Kentucky, where Calipari coached for 15 seasons, and now against conference foes the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday.

NCAA analyst Jeff Goodman reflected on Arkansas' 78-70 win on "The Field Of 68: After Dark," stating that Johnell "Nelly" Davis' aggressiveness was the key to the Razorbacks' success.

"He is back confidence-wise, you're giving him the ball," Goodman said of Davis on Wednesday. "He's the guy right now that's gonna lead this team back to the bubble."

For 14-8 Arkansas, making the NCAA Tournament is still a real possibility. In Calipari's first year with the Razorbacks, and with the help of transfers like Davis, as well as Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner and Zvonimir Ivisic, who all followed Calipari from Kentucky, the program is turning around.

Arkansas made the NCAA Tournament three years in a row from 2021-23, appearing in the Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022, but fell short of a place in the tournament last season after finishing with a 16-17 record.

After missing the tournament, then-head coach Eric Musselman announced that he would be leaving Arkansas to coach at USC. John Calipari parted ways with Kentucky the same year and is now with the Razorbacks, trying to elevate the team back to tournament status. Capilari seems confident in his team following two big back-to-back wins.

"We had to validate that last win, would you say? We had to validate it," John Calipari said of Arkansas defeating Kansas. "And coming here, we did."

NCAA Basketball: Arkansas at Texas - Source: Imagn

Nelly Davis' impact on John Calipari's Arkansas

Like John Calipari, Nelly Davis is also in his first season with the Razorbacks. The senior guard spent the first four years of his college career with Florida Atlantic University, helping lead the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a spot in the Final Four in 2023.

He emerged as a consistent starter for the Owls last season, during which he averaged 18.2 points per game with an admirable 41.4% 3-point percentage. Davis was the No. 2 ranked transfer this off-season and was a huge pick-up for Calipari as he started his tenure at Arkansas. Even during exhibition games, Calipari knew that Davis would be a valuable piece of his new team.

"Nelly's [Davis] is going to play because he fights," Calipari said in a press conference back in October. "He's a battler. He’s going to play."

NCAA Basketball: Arkansas at Texas - Source: Imagn

Davis has become one of the players to watch for the Razorbacks, having made 15 starts thus far this season and averaging 10.1 points per game. The senior guard seems to have found his rhythm in the past few games, putting up 18-plus points in each of Arkansas' last three matchups.

In the win over the Wildcats, Davis contributed 18 points, six assists and four rebounds to help the Razorbacks defeat John Calipari's former school. In Wednesday's defeat of the Longhorns, the guard heated up even more to put up a season-high 24 points.

Arkansas is trying to prove itself as a promising bubble team, and if Davis keeps playing like this, the team may do just that.