The atmosphere promises to be charged when Arkansas meets No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
The Wildcats are returning home after an uplifting win at No. 8 Tennessee. It’s a prime-time national TV game. And, most of all, it is the first trip back to Rupp Arena for Arkansas coach John Calipari after 15 seasons at Kentucky.
Even though Calipari guided Kentucky to one national championship, four appearances in the Final Four and a 410-123 record, he isn’t expecting a warm welcome.
“You get booed. I’ve done this so long,” Calipari said this week. “I’ve got bazooka holes in my body. When you shoot arrows, it doesn’t even hit skin. It goes through one of those bazooka holes.”
After leaving Kentucky last spring, any goodwill Calipari might have expected upon his return dissipated when he moved on to an SEC rival a day later and took with him three of the Wildcats’ rotation players and three other incoming freshmen he had recruited.
“Can’t say I’m looking forward to it,” Calipari said. “I’m looking forward to coaching, but to walk in and the vibe, I don’t know how I’m going to take it, to be honest with you.”
Even with the talent Calipari brought in, Arkansas (12-8, 1-6) has struggled against SEC competition and faces a daunting task at Kentucky (15-5, 4-3).
Wildcat transfers Adou Thiero, who is averaging 16.1 points per game, and D.J. Wagner (10.2 points) are the Razorbacks’ top two threats now that Boogie Fland (15.1 points, 5.7 assists) has been declared out for the season with a thumb injury.
Fland is one of the high school recruits who followed Calipari to Arkansas.
With a lineup consisting almost exclusively of transfers, Kentucky has had a remarkable season under first-year coach Mark Pope, going 6-1 against ranked teams, including high-profile wins over Duke, Gonzaga and Florida.
Tuesday’s 78-73 win at Tennessee was another example of the Wildcats bringing their best against elite competition. They made 50 percent of their shots both from the floor and from 3-point range against the nation’s No. 2 defense, per KenPom.com.
Kentucky was short-handed in the win. Lamont Butler (13.2 points, 4.8 assists) was out with a shoulder injury while Andrew Carr (10.4 points) played just one minute, nursing a back injury.
Without Butler, who plays the point, Kentucky turned to versatile 7-footer Amari Williams to take care of much of the Wildcats’ ball-handling duties. The Drexel transfer had 10 points, 15 rebounds and four assists.
“No point guard to be found on our roster and (I was) like, ‘Amari, it’s up to you,'” Pope said. “Amari brought the ball up against the press probably more than anybody on our team.”
Leading Kentucky down the stretch were Koby Brea (18 points), Jaxson Robinson (17 points) and Ansley Almonor (12 points), who combined to make 11 shots from 3-point range.
Butler will miss his second straight game Saturday, but Carr was listed as probable on the conference’s injury report issued Friday night.
Regardless of whether Carr plays or not, the Wildcats can depend on top scorer Otega Oweh (15.9 points).
–Field Level Media
