As much as John Calipari tells them to avoid it, the Wildcats can’t help but hear.They don’t seek it out, but they hear the talk about their unbeaten run and pursuit of perfection. They hear how many fans throughout the country want them to lose and how Arkansas, Kentucky’s next opponent, could be the team to finally make it happen.They hear and they respond.”When we hear that a team is going to challenge us, you know, could beat us, in some aspects we take it personally,” Trey Lyles said. “We want to go out there and show those people who said that differently and just go out there and compete.”The top-ranked Cats (28-0, 15-0 Southeastern Conference) can be sure the No. 18/16 Razorbacks (23-5, 12-3 SEC) will do the same on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena. Needing a win to prevent Kentucky from clinching the conference regular-season title outright, Arkansas – UK’s first ranked opponent in two months – will be ready. “They will not be in awe of us,” associate head coach Kenny Payne said. “They won’t be intimidated. They’ll come in with some confidence. But we will, too. We’ll come in knowing that we’re a different team, that we’re going to get after them just like they’re going to get after us.”Payne felt it necessary to point out UK is a different team because the previous edition of the Cats lost twice to Arkansas a season ago. Kentucky has dropped three straight to the Razorbacks overall, meaning no member of the regular rotation has won a game against Arkansas, a team led by Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls, combining to average 32.7 points per game.”I just think that they have a competitive edge about them,” Payne said. “They know that this team has beaten us twice, and they’ll go out and compete.”UK’s returners haven’t been vocal about wanting to even the score against Arkansas, but their younger teammates are pretty sure the feeling is bubbling beneath the surface.”I think they definitely remember,” Lyles said. “They talk about it quite a lot now since the game is coming up, so I think they’re going to have a little bit more energy and passion going out there tomorrow night.” Energy and passion will be at a premium against Arkansas, a team known for its up-tempo, high-pressure brand of basketball. The Razorbacks rank 15th nationally in defensive turnover percentage and sixth in adjusted tempo according to kenpom.com.”I think Arkansas is the type of team that creates a lot of turnovers,” Payne said. “They play well against us. It will be a great game tomorrow. We have to handle their pressure.”Payne compared Arkansas’ pressure to Louisville’s, which forced UK to commit a season-high-tying 18 turnovers. The Razorbacks, however, play at a different pace than the Cardinals, though Devin Booker has no reason to think the Cats won’t be able to handle it.”I feel like we can slow it down or we can play fast paced,” Booker said. “With so many weapons that we have, we can just adjust to any type of game play. I think it will be a good challenge for us because we haven’t really played an up-tempo game like they play in a while.”Most opponents have chosen to attack the deep, talented Wildcats by slowing the pace. UK, to this point, has passed every such test. Arkansas now presents a different kind of challenge.”What it does is, defensively their style is making you play basketball,” Payne said. “So if you think you’re going to just catch the basketball, hold the ball, run offense, set offensive plays, it’s not happening. They will force you to attack and hopefully teams that handle it have success; teams that don’t, they struggle.”Whether Arkansas’ style is the way to topple the last unbeaten team in the nation remains to be seen, but the Cats don’t mind the chance to toss the shackles of a plodding, half-court game aside.”I feel like we have good enough players to play basketball, so it’ll be a good time,” Booker said.