Arkansas and James Madison are facing off on the hardwood for the first time on Monday, but the two head coaches are very familiar with each other.
Dukes head coach Preston Spradlin spent two seasons under John Calipari as a graduate assistant at Kentucky before taking over as director of basketball operations for three years. The 38-year-old from Pikeville, Ky., is a bit of a rising star in the industry, taking Morehead State to the Big Dance twice and winning a share of the Sun Belt title last season in his first campaign with JMU. Calipari met and defeated his apprentice twice when Morehead State met Kentucky in a 2017 exhibition and the 2020-21 regular season.