The John Calipari era got off to a rousing start — even if it was an exhibition.
Arkansas fans packed Bud Walton Arena on Friday to watch their first-year hall of fame coach roam the sideline dressed in red as opposed to the deep blue he wore as the coach at Kentucky for 15 seasons.
His No. 16 Razorbacks did not disppoint, delivering an 85-69 win against the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. D.J. Wagner and Boogie Fland led Arkansas in the win, scoring 24 and 22 respectively.
Calipari and his Kansas counterpart, Bill Self, downplayed the significance of the exhibition game leading up to tipoff, but when the clock started, they went full-bore coaching mode — Partcularly Calipari, who was hired last spring to replace former coach Eric Musselman in a hire that sent shockwaves through college basketball.