John Calipari’s latest March Madness underdog run could be underway

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Is it 2014 all over again for John Calipari?

That year, a loaded Kentucky team struggled amid high expectations and flirted with missing the NCAA Tournament.

They landed an eighth seed and caught fire, reaching the national championship game.

Arkansas had similar struggles in Calipari’s first year in Fayetteville, but a strong finish despite injuries to stars Boogie Fland and Adou Thiero was enough for the Razorbacks to punch their tournament ticket.

And now, after this 79-72 victory over No. 7 Kansas, they are 40 minutes from the second weekend.

Arkansas, the 10th seed in the West Region, will meet the winner of No. 2 St. John’s and No. 15 Omaha in the second round on Saturday.

The win was Arkansas’ season in a nutshell: bright spots and shaky play.

They led by 11 at one point in the second half, blew that lead, then recovered late to advance.

Johnell Davis’ 3-pointer with 1:43 to go was the biggest shot, pushing the difference to four as part of an 11-2 burst.

Jonas Aidoo led the Razorbacks with 22 points and Davis added 18, including two free throws with 10.4 seconds to go that iced the victory.

Fland had six points and three assists in his first game since thumb surgery in mid-January.

The loss ended a disappointing year for Kansas, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason.

The Jayhawks started 7-0, but limped to the finish line.

Zeke Mayo scored 18 points to lead Kansas and Hunter Dickinson managed just 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting.