Kansas falls to Arkansas in March Madness upset
Alona Yadav | Mar 21, 2025, 21:14 IST
( Image credit : AP )
Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks were upset by John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks, 79-72, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This defeat marks the Jayhawks' earliest exit since 2006 and reduced the number of perfect brackets nationwide significantly.
In a stunning first-round NCAA Tournament upset, Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks were eliminated by John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks 79-72 on Thursday at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
This marks the first time since 2006 that a Self-coached Kansas team has failed to advance past the tournament's opening round. The No. 10 seeded Razorbacks used a decisive 15-5 run to close out the game against the No. 7 seeded Jayhawks.
Kansas appeared poised to avoid the upset when KJ Adams hit a jumper to take a 67-64 lead with 4:55 remaining. However, the momentum shifted dramatically when Adams exited with an injury shortly afterward, allowing Arkansas to mount their comeback.
The loss carries historical significance for Kansas, which became only the second Associated Press preseason No. 1 ranked team to suffer a first-round tournament exit. Ironically, the only other team to experience this fate was Kansas itself in 2005.
According to NCAA statistics, the Arkansas victory reduced the number of perfect brackets nationwide to just 0.69%, a figure that dropped further to 0.47% after Texas A&M defeated Yale in another first-round matchup.
The matchup featured two of college basketball's most accomplished coaches in Self and Calipari. With the win, Calipari evened his all-time head-to-head record against Self at 7-7, while improving his postseason record against his rival to 2-1. This was their first encounter since 2023, when Calipari was coaching at Kentucky.
Arkansas now advances to face the winner of No. 2 seed St. John's and No. 15 seed Omaha in second-round action on Saturday, March 22.
For basketball enthusiasts tracking the improbability of a perfect bracket, USA TODAY previously noted the odds at approximately 1 in 9.2 quintillion for casual fans, improving to 1 in 120.2 billion for avid college basketball followers.
This marks the first time since 2006 that a Self-coached Kansas team has failed to advance past the tournament's opening round. The No. 10 seeded Razorbacks used a decisive 15-5 run to close out the game against the No. 7 seeded Jayhawks.
Kansas appeared poised to avoid the upset when KJ Adams hit a jumper to take a 67-64 lead with 4:55 remaining. However, the momentum shifted dramatically when Adams exited with an injury shortly afterward, allowing Arkansas to mount their comeback.
The loss carries historical significance for Kansas, which became only the second Associated Press preseason No. 1 ranked team to suffer a first-round tournament exit. Ironically, the only other team to experience this fate was Kansas itself in 2005.
According to NCAA statistics, the Arkansas victory reduced the number of perfect brackets nationwide to just 0.69%, a figure that dropped further to 0.47% after Texas A&M defeated Yale in another first-round matchup.
The matchup featured two of college basketball's most accomplished coaches in Self and Calipari. With the win, Calipari evened his all-time head-to-head record against Self at 7-7, while improving his postseason record against his rival to 2-1. This was their first encounter since 2023, when Calipari was coaching at Kentucky.
Arkansas now advances to face the winner of No. 2 seed St. John's and No. 15 seed Omaha in second-round action on Saturday, March 22.
For basketball enthusiasts tracking the improbability of a perfect bracket, USA TODAY previously noted the odds at approximately 1 in 9.2 quintillion for casual fans, improving to 1 in 120.2 billion for avid college basketball followers.