“Kansas can beat Arkansas”: College hoops fans excited as Bill Self and John Calipari’s teams matchup in 1st round of NCAA Tournament

March Madness is full of surprises, as indicated by the first-round matchup of Bill Self's Kansas and John Calipari's Arkansas. Both coaches have led D1 basketball teams for more than a thousand games. Self has mounted an 831-260 (76.2%) win rate with Kansas while Calipari has an 875-276 record (76.0%) in his 33 years of coaching schools like UMass, Memphis, Kentucky, and the Razorbacks.

Admired as two of the best coaches in the college basketball space, Cal and Self bring significant post-season and win-or-go-home game experience with them. The Jayhawks coach has 10 conference championships, four Final Four runs and a national title under his belt. On the other hand, Calipari has 15 conference trophies, six Final Four appearances and one NCAA championship.

The first-round matchup between John Calipari and Bill Self, set for Thursday, has already created a buzz among hoops fans as the two masterminds would ideally face each other deeper in the tournament:

"The quantity of talent in a Kansas Arkansas matchup is absurd," a fan wrote.

"Underrated note is that Arkansas and Kansas played each other in a charity exhibition this year. No rule against it, but some familiarity there for a first-round matchup.," another user commented.

"Kansas can beat Arkansas but I think this mediocre season ends in week 2 lol," another fan added.

More fans reacted on X with various takes:

"Arkansas is gonna cook us (again)," a Kansas fan commented.

"I'm trying to picture Kansas & Arkansas fans eating reaally good Italian food up Fed Hill.," a user wrote.

"Kansas vs Arkansas: the winning team gets the pronunciation.," another fan added.

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John Calipari and Arkansas trolled Bill Self and Kansas in October

Even though it was an exhibition match, Arkansas rubbed its win against the Jayhawks in Kansas' face in October 2024. The Razorbacks' X handle took a shot at the pronunciation rivalry between the two states. So, after John Calipari's team defeated Bill Self's crew 85-69 in a charity game, it's post read:

"Once again pleased to inform you, it’s Kansaw now.”

The two teams will bring the banter on Thursday as well, be it through banners, t-shirts, or simply by chanting it. The last official game Self and Cal faced was on Nov. 15, 2023, when Kansas defeated Kentucky 89-84.