The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team’s struggles continued Tuesday night as they lost 78-74 on the road to the LSU Tigers.

That made Arkansas 11-6 overall and 0-4 in SEC play this season, and according to BR Hoops, it was the first time in his career that head coach John Calipari started an SEC schedule with an 0-4 record.

The Razorbacks posted an impressive 11-2 record in non-conference play, but have since suffered losses to Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida and LSU to sit alone in last place in the SEC standings.

While Calipari is in the middle of his first season at Arkansas, he has been a major college head coach for 33 seasons and has been in the SEC since 2009.

Coach Cal enjoyed tremendous success during his 15-year career at SEC power Kentucky, achieving a 410-123 record with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, six SEC regular season titles, six SEC Tournament titles, four trips to the Final Four and a national championship.

Calipari’s only national title came in his third season at Kentucky in 2012, and although he came close several times, he failed to reach the top of the college basketball mountain again.

In the final seasons of Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky, the Wildcats went from a perennial SEC power to a team that was no longer dominant.

Kentucky did not win an SEC title in Calipari’s final four seasons, and while they made the NCAA Tournament three times during that time, they were eliminated in the first round twice and were eliminated in the second round.

Calipari apparently struggled to adjust to the uniqueness of college basketball, regularly assembling top-notch recruiting classes only to more often than not see his best players leave after one season.

Because the Wildcats were unable to retain quality players over multiple seasons, it was difficult to create continuity and a team capable of competing for championships.

The 65-year-old Calipari made the somewhat surprising decision to leave Kentucky for SEC opponent Arkansas at the end of the 2023-24 season, making the Razorbacks an immediate target.

According to 247Sports, Arkansas had the No. 4 overall recruiting class in college basketball and the No. 1 transfer class this season.

Arkansas also already has the No. 4 overall 2025 class and receives commitments from two 5-star recruits and one 4-star recruit.

Strong recruiting initially seemed to pay off for Calipari and the Razorbacks, but their deficit early in SEC play suggests coach Cal may be running into the same issues he had at Kentucky.

Still, Arkansas has undeniable talent and a chance to turn things around in perhaps the toughest conference in college basketball.

The Razorbacks beat then-No. 14 Michigan and lost by single digits to then-No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 8 Florida, leaving them competitive against top teams.

Junior Adou Thiero and freshman Boogie Fland have been leaders for Arkansas this season, combining to average over 30 points per game, but no other Razorbacks player is averaging more than 10.4 points per game, suggesting Calipari needs more from his support team.

Calipari’s next opportunity to make his first SEC appearance at Arkansas comes Saturday when the Razorbacks take on the Missouri Tigers.

A win in this game could go a long way toward getting Arkansas back on track, but the games will only get tougher from there as the Razorbacks still face No. 23 Georgia, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 4 Alabama will face No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 1 Auburn and No. 15 Mississippi State.