FAYETTEVILLE — On the surface, there are few similarities between Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Calipari and Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington.
One is in his 34th season of coaching Division I college basketball, a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and a national champion. The other is in his second season coaching in a power conference with 21 less years of experience and 17 years younger in age.
But Calipari and Byington greeted each other with smiles and laughter before the Razorbacks defeated the Commodores 90-77 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nasvhille, Tenn., last March.