Bill Self gets real on facing John Calipari as Kansas and Arkansas square off in March Madness

Even most non-basketball fans might know that Bill Self and John Calipari are two of the greatest coaches in college basketball history. And they’re still going strong.

That’s why the fans will be in for a treat when Self’s Kansas Jayhawks and Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks square off in Providence for the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Self beat Calipari’s Memphis in 2007 to win his first national championship. Then, Calipari’s Kentucky avenged their coach five years later. When asked about this rematch, Coach Self had nothing but praise for his colleague.

Bill Self opens up on another matchup with John Calipari

“He’s always great, you know, recruiting great players and terrific athletes” said Self. “I think they do a good job coaching them too. And I think they usually guard, and I’m sure they’ll do that, and they’re battle tested, obviously, going through the going through the grind of the SEC, but yeah, it’ll be a fun, competitive game.”

John Calipari

He knows his team will be in for a tough matchup on Wednesday. More than that, he’s aware of all the extra attention this game will require because of the two Hall of Fame coaches:

“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,” he added. “So we bond against each other quite a bit over time, but I don’t believe we ever gone against each other, except in two really big games in the in the NCAA Tournament.So, so and we split those so, so it’ll be, it’ll be a much talked about matchup, I assume.”

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The Razorbacks struggled throughout the season, but anything can happen in a win-or-go-home situation, so this will be one of the most anticipated and watched games in recent history.