FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari, following an 82-57 win over Central Arkansas last Saturday, entered the interview room at Simmons Bank Arena prepared to once again send a message about the SEC’s strength.
The league, at this point in time, is the best in the country and has an argument to be the strongest ever in men’s college basketball. And Calipari has seen how far it has come.
The SEC regularly had three NCAA Tournament bids and empty arenas during the first half of Calipari's 15-year tenure at Kentucky that began in 2009. Now, each of its 16 teams are ranked in KenPom’s top 66 and the conference is the top-rated league in the country — a full 3.