That early meeting will have no influence on the first-round NCAA Tournament game between No. 7 Kansas (21-12) and No. 10 Arkansas (20-13), scheduled for Thursday night at 7:10 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Arkansas’ 85-69 thrashing of Kansas last fall is a minor detail as legendary coaches, Bill Self and John Calipari, prepare to meet again.

PROVIDENCE — John Calipari has been in the NCAA Tournament enough times to know the selection committee often has either a sense of humor or a flair for creating games with subplots. So the first-year Arkansas coach assumed, given his somewhat acrimonious exit from Kentucky, that the Razorbacks would be headed there.

PROVIDENCE -- Arkansas coach John Calipari says he called his shot. The Naismith Hall of Fame coach says he “predicted” that Arkansas would land in the same bracket as Kansas and St. John’s -- which feature fellow Hall of Fame coaches Bill Self and Rick Pitino, respectively.