"I do some unconventional stuff": John Calipari reveals reason behind unique crunch time strategy in win vs South Carolina

John Calipari ordered Johnell Davis to miss the last free throw of the SEC first-round game against South Carolina on Tuesday. Arkansas was up by three points at the time with 2.5 left on the game clock. A miss could have either resulted in an offensive rebound or granted the Gamecocks a chance to tie the game - which would have required a desperation heave to sink in.

Davis accidentally made the shot and the Razorbacks made it to the second round behind a 72-68 win. Cal shared his perspective on his unique strategy in the post-game conference.

"You're up three and there's two seconds to go - miss it," he said. "By the time they get it, there's a second. Now the other side of that is what if they throw one deep and bank it in? But I've done it before. So, I do some unconventional stuff and he banked it in and I was like happy."

With that, John Calipari highlighted another tactful way of throwing the opponent off rhythm. He said that a team can foul when it's up by six points in the last 20 seconds of the game. He added that the opponent might get to the charity stripe, but it would prevent their 3-pointers and give a chance to dribble out the game clock.

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John Calipari's thoughts on the upcoming SEC tournament game

Arkansas will now face Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC tournament on Wednesday at the Bridgestone Arena. The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 8, resulting in a 73-66 Razorbacks loss at home.

When asked about the matchup, John Calipari noted that his lineup looks different than earlier this year, asserting that the Rebels will pose quite a challenge.

"My team is different, I got a totally different team and and they played well all year ... it'll be a hard game for us," he said (at 12:20).

Arkansas is dealing with multiple injuries, with the biggest absences in Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero. The two starters combined for more than 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for John Calipari. ESPN's matchup predictor gives Cal's team a 41.8% chance against Ole Miss.