Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at Arkansas
Kentucky has had its ups this season, winning at Tennessee, beating St. John’s and Indiana. But the Cats have also had some downs, including a loss at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. UK head coach Mark Pope addressed the game in his Thursday press conference.
“What we didn’t do well at Vandy, there were a bunch of things that jumped on our back and we couldn’t kind of keep our focus in the moment,” Pope said. “So, we ended up have these weird, anomalous things.”
How can the Cats take what happened on Tuesday night in Nashville and build on it?
“So, the challenge for us is, can you just be focused on right now?,” Pope said. “Can you drown out all the noise, drown out the play that just happened, to play that is about to happen and just be currently in this one? And when we do that, we’re really good. So, that will be our job.”
The challenges keep on coming for Kentucky, as the Cats visit Arkansas on Saturday night at Bud Walton Arena (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Hogs, of course, are coached by former UK head man John Calipari, who beat Kentucky last season in Rupp Arena. That factor, in addition to it being a game against a ranked opponent, bring a little extra juice to this game. However, Pope pointed out that most of Kentucky’s games are the same way.
“We’re on the emotional roller coaster. It’s just what this year is for us right now,” Pope said. “I think mostly every game is charged for us. Every game is so big and this one is for all the reasons.”
Kentucky hopes that the emotional roller coaster is on its way back up, beginning on Saturday night in Fayetteville.
Know Your Opponent: Arkansas
Kentucky visits Arkansas for the second leg in its two-game road swing this week.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 36-15, and is 11-8 in Fayetteville
• Arkansas prevailed by an 89-79 score a season ago in Rupp
• Former Kentucky head coach John Calipari now leads the Hogs. While at the helm in Lexington for 15 seasons, Calipari led the Cats to 32 NCAA Tournament wins, four Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and the 2012 national championship title
• Kentucky is 14-5 all-time against former head coaches (Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, Calipari), including a win over Pitino and St. John’s this year in the CBS Sports Classic
• Jodie Meeks owns the UK scoring record in the series with 45 points on Feb. 14, 2009. Arkansas’ Khalif Battle put up a Razorback series record 34 points against a Calipari-coached team on March 2, 2024 in a 111-105 Kentucky win. It is the highest-scoring game in the series’ history
• The Razorbacks are 16-5 overall and 6-2 in league play and led by freshman sensation Darius Acuff who is averaging a league-best 22.63 points per game against SEC competition
• DJ Wagner is in his third collegiate season and second with the Hogs after spending his freshman season with Kentucky
• Former UK staff members Kenny Payne, Chin Coleman, Chuck Martin and Bruiser Flint are on the bench at Arkansas, along with former players Brad Calipari and Tyler Ulis
Balanced on the Stats Sheet
Balance has been the name of the game for the Cats thus far this season.
• UK has had eight different leading scorers or co-leaders
• Twelve different players have scored in double figures for the Cats this season. It matches the 1992-93 team for the most players in program history to score in double-figures in at least one game during a season
• UK has also had six different players lead or co-lead in rebounds
• Six players have led or co-led in assists
• Kentucky has had nine players score at least six points in three games already this season (Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Loyola (Md.))
• Three players have multiple 20-point outings (Aberdeen, Oweh, Dioubate)
