Major heartbreak for John Calipari's Arkansas as 18-year-old star Boogie Fland sidelined for remainder of season

John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks woes have taken a turn for the worse, as star freshman Boogie Fland has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Fland suffered a hand injury against Florida on Jan. 11.

Although he played in Arkansas' next two contests against LSU and Missouri, it seems the injury was too severe for him to continue playing.

On Tuesday, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported on X/Twitter that Fland will miss the rest of the season. Coach John Calipari had described the injury as "pretty bad," indicating that it's a serious setback for the 18-year-old.

"Boogie’s hand, he fell in the game at our place against Florida," Calipari said Saturday after the Missouri game. "(Billy Richmond) jumped on him, so his hand is pretty bad. Don’t know what we’ll do going forward. But, we got to make sure we get that thing right."

Calipari admitted that if Fland is out long-term, Arkansas will have a real challenge on its hands, considering the limited available players on their roster. The 6-foot-2 guard has been a standout for the Razorbacks, averaging 15.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Fland's absence will force the Razorbacks to rely more heavily on players like DJ Wagner and Johnell Davis down the stretch.

---

Challenges mount as John Calipari faces worst conference play start

When John Calipari accepted the job at Arkansas after leaving Kentucky last summer, he was tasked with rebuilding a program that had fallen on tough times. The Razorbacks had gone 16-17 overall and 6-12 in the SEC, missing the NCAA Tournament, while Eric Musselman left to take the USC job.

Calipari came in with high expectations but has faced an uphill battle. The Razorbacks had a decent nonconference slate, going 11-2, with wins over Michigan and Miami. However, the wheels have fallen off in SEC play, as they have lost all five games, making it their worst conference start in over 30 years.

The 65-83 loss at Missouri marked coach John Calipari's first time starting 0-5 in conference play since his first season coaching at UMass in 1988-89.

Arkansas faced a tough schedule, playing four ranked teams out of five. They lost to No. 5 Tennessee, No. 16 Ole Miss, No. 5 Florida and No. 22 Missouri.

The Razorbacks hit a season low against the Volunteers, managing only 52 points. Their only game where they scored 70 or more points was against LSU — in the rest of their conference games, their average scoring output was just 61.5 per outing.