Who will John Calipari's Arkansas play in first-round of NCAA Tournament? Looking at Razorbacks' seeding in 68-team field

The Arkansas Razorbacks under coach John Calipari fell just short of the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal when they fell 83-80 to the Ole Miss Rebels in the quarterfinals last week. Despite the loss, the No. 10-seeded Razorbacks made it to the 68-team NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday.

The Razorbacks will play coach Bill Self's No. 7-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the much-anticipated tournament on Friday in the Providence Region.

During an interview on CBS Sports after the matchup was confirmed, Self revealed that he had a feeling that it would happen.

“Nothing surprised me,” Self said. “I didn’t have any anticipation, but I told my staff a week ago, ‘You watch. (It will be) 7 versus 10. We’re playing Arkansas.’ You could ask any of them (assistant coaches). I’ve been saying that for a week.

“It’ll be a fun, competitive game. I know we’re going to have to play really well to win, and I believe they’re going to have to play well to win, too. We’ve gone against each other quite a bit over time."

John Calipari and Bill Self have clashed on the biggest stage

John Calipari and Bill Self have battled on the biggest stages of the NCAA Tournament. They first met when Self's Kansas Jayhawks beat Calipari's Memphis Tigers 75-68 in the 2008 national championship game. The latter got revenge on the former when his Kentucky Wildcats beat the former's Jayhawks 67-59 in the 2012 national championship game.

The charismatic Calipari spoke to the media about the thrilling matchup between his Razorbacks and Self's Jayhawks.

"We’ve played," John Calipari said. "He’s beaten us in Rupp [Arena], we’ve beaten him in Allen [Fieldhouse]. We got them in an exhibition game. If we go out there, they’ll probably get us. I mean, we’ve done this at a level for a long, long time, both of us. And I hate to play people that are friends or that I know well, but when you’re in this thing, you’re just, ‘Who are we playing? Alright, let’s see what we have to do to try to win.’"

The game on Friday will be John Calipari and Bill Self's first meeting outside of the national championship game making it one of the blockbuster first-round games of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kansas Jayhawks have also met twice at the Big Dance. The Jayhawks won 93-81 in the Elite Eight of the 1991 tournament while the former won 72-71 in the second round of the 2023 tournament.