John Calipari is up to his old tricks again.

Leaving Kentucky after 15 seasons last April and resurfacing at Arkansas didn’t look like such a good idea when Calipari rebuilt a depleted roster and then promptly started 0-5 in the rugged Southeastern Conference.

Yet the Razorbacks, at 22-13, are probably the biggest surprise that remain alive in the men’s NCAA Tournament. They’re the lowest-seeded team still playing at No. 10 after upset wins in the first two rounds over No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. John’s.

among the 16 teams

Arkansas will be the (27-8) Thursday night at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:09 p.m., with No. 1 Florida (32-4) playing No. 4 Maryland (27-8) in the first game at 4:39 p.m.

underdog again when it faces No. 3 seed Texas Tech

“It’s going to be a real hard game for us,” Calipari told reporters Thursday. “But you know what? My kids, they’ve come through the fire. And my guess is, other than fans from Arkansas, no one is picking us to win. But the great news is, in the tournament, you’ve got to play these games. And so we’ll see.”

Should Arkansas win twice and advance to the Final Four, Calipari, 66, would be the first coach to lead four different teams to that stage, having done it at UMass (1996), Memphis (2008) and Kentucky (national champions in 2012).

At Memphis and Kentucky, Calipari earned the reputation for playing freshmen right away and frequently watching them leave for the NBA after a single season. Not surprisingly, in the Razorbacks’ win over St. John’s, freshmen Karter Knox, Boogie Fland and Billy Richmond III combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds.