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In one of the most anticipated games in Rupp Arena history, legendary former Kentucky Basketball head coach John Calipari led his Arkansas Razorback team to a massive win on the road in Lexington late on Saturday night by a score of 89 to 79. While Arkansas has not had the season that many anticipated to this point, Coach Calipari is at his best when his team has nothing to lose. Throughout his career at Kentucky, he regularly coached his team to unexpected road wins. It happened once again, this time in the building he once called home. Coach Calipari began his day much like the majority of his mornings in Lexington the last 15 years, with his everyday order at the local Dunkin Donuts. While the city was buzzing throughout the week, it was clear Calipari, too, was looking forward to a return to the city he loves. It wasn’t just any other game for Calipari or Big Blue Nation. It was the reuniting of two parties who once relied on each other. Only three players in the game were affiliated with Kentucky in their playing careers, all of which were on Arkansas’s bench for Saturdays game. In the end, it just meant more to Coach Calipari and former Kentucky players DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic. The three players combined for 52 of Arkansas’s 89 points. Coach Calipari led Kentucky to a 410-123 record over his 15 seasons in Lexington, adding 4 Final Fours and 1 National Championship in his Kentucky career. However, this game might prove to be one of the most satisfying wins of his historic career.

The ‘Cats seemed to struggle with Arkansas’s athleticism and shot-making ability on the defensive end while keeping pace with their efficient offense in the first half. The ‘Cats offense cooled considerable in the second half, shooting 40% from the field and just 23% from three compared to Arkansas’s 64% from the field in the second half and 57% from beyond the arc. Amari Williams and Jaxson Robinson were the bright spots for Kentucky, with Williams leading all scorers with 22 points while adding 11 rebounds and taking advantage of Ivisic on the offensive end throughout the night. Robinson was the primary Point Guard for Kentucky for the second consecutive game with Lamont Butler out with an injury. He contributed 20 points on 4 of 6 shooting from three. Key role players in Koby Brea, Collin Chandler, Ansley Almonor, and Brandon Garrison did not matchup well with the Razorbacks athleticism and were consistently attacked on defense. It is clear Coach Mark Pope is continuing to try to find his rhythm in mixing and matching lineups with Butler out and Carr hobbled. All things considered, it was an emotional day for Big Blue Nation and John Calipari that ended with a disappointing loss form the ‘Cats at home to the Razorbacks. This is also the second consecutive home loss for Kentucky following their loss to Alabama at home two weeks ago. Theres no sugar coating it, this one hurts for ‘Cats fans.

The spread for Saturday nights matchup against Arkansas was -8.5 (Kentucky). The Over/Under points total was set at 156.5.

The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea, Otega Oweh, Ansley Almonor, and Amari Williams.

Game Recap:

First Half

Arkansas won the tip and began the game with a Johnell Davis three. Robinson nailed a three from the parking lot to tie the game. Ivisic nailed a three on the next trip down for the Razorbacks. Oweh drove it all the way to the rim and scored over Ivisic. Brea nailed a three to give Kentucky a 8-6 lead. Thiero nailed a three on the next trip down. Williams backed Ivisic down as Ivisic flopped to the ground to allow Williams to score easily at the rim. Oweh drove and scored again. Almonor nailed a three to extend the ‘Cats lead. Knox answered with a three on the other end. Robinson nailed a rhythm three in transition to force Calipari to take a timeout as the ‘Cats led 18-12 with 14:23-minutes to go in the first half. Former ‘Cats guard, DJ Wagner, was regularly booed as he brought he ball down the court to begin the game. Rupp Arena was deafening in the first 6-minutes of action as the ‘Cats began the game 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks were 4 of 7 from three-point range to begin the game, with all 12 of their points coming from three. Brazile drove in transition for a score for Arkansas. Davis scored on a jumper to bring the score to 18-16 ‘Cats. Carr and Perry checked in for the ‘Cats with 12-minutes to play. Robinson was fouled and hit both free-throws at the line. Richmond scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 20. Brea found a back door and Garrison found him for a dunk. The ‘Cats led 22-20 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Davis went to the line and hit 1 of 2 free-throws. Williams stole a pass after his turnover and found Perry for a transition three as Rupp Arena exploded. Williams muscled his way down the paint for a score. Thiero was fouled heading into the under 8-minute media timeout. Thiero hit both free-throws and Robinson nailed another three for the ‘Cats. Thiero took a strong drive to the rim for a score. Theiro then converted a hook shot for another score. Robinson was fouled at the rim but there was no whistle and Arkansas found Knox for a transition dunk to give Arkansas a 31-30 lead with 6:11-minutes to play in the half forcing Coach Pope to take a timeout. Davis nailed another three for Arkansas. Oweh drove into Thiero to force a foul and scored the bucket. Oweh missed the free-throw. Ivisic nailed a three at the top of the key. Williams drove by defenders and slammed in a dunk with a foul. Williams converted the free-throw following an Arkansas lane violation. Kentucky isolated Williams on Ivisic and Williams backed him down and converted a shot with another foul. Davis answered with another three. Williams got the ball in the paint again and slammed it down. The Razorbacks led 40-39 at the under 4-minute media timeout. Chandler scored with Carr following up a defensive stop with a three to give Kentucky a 44-40 lead. Brazile nailed a corner three to bring the lead back to 1 for the ‘Cats. Wagner fouled Robinson on a three. Robinson made just 1 of 3 at the line. Knox nailed a corner three on the next trip down for Arkansas. Arkansas led 46-45 at the half after the ‘Cats failed to convert on the last possession of the first half.

The ’Cats played exceptional offense throughout the first half, shooting 59% from the floor and 70% (7 of 10) from beyond the arc. The defense left some to be desired, however, allowing 46 first half points to Arkansas on 48% shooting and 50% (9 of 18) from three. Florida Atlantic transfer, Johnell Davis and former Kentucky Wildcat, Adou Thiero led the Razorbacks offensive charge with 12 and 11 points, respectively. For the ‘Cats, Robinson had 12 points while going 3 for 3 from beyond the arc and Williams added 11 first half points. Kentucky had 8 first half turnovers to Arkansas 4. The ‘Cats will look to increase the defensive intensity to force Arkansas into bad shots while continuing to be efficient on the offensive end in the second half.

Halftime: Kentucky 45 – Arkansas 46

Second Half

The second half began with a misfire from three from Oweh in the corner. Thiero slammed in a dunk on the other end and the ‘Cats turned it over on the next trip. Thiero was fouled and made both free-throws. Williams backed Ivisic down once again and scored over him. Wagner nailed a three for his first points of the game to give Arkansas a 53-47 lead. Wagner again scored on the next trip to push the Razorback lead to 55-47 with 16:39-minutes to go. Ivisic nailed a three to push the lead to 58-47 Arkansas. Almonor nailed a three to end Kentucky’s scoring drought and was fouled on the shot for a chance at a 4-point play. Almonor hit the free-throw to convert the 4-point play. The ‘Cats were called for a goaltend but Robinson responded on the other end with an and-one opportunity. Robinson hit the free-throw to make the score 60-54 Arkansas. Carr was called for a foul on Thiero on a play that looked like clean defense. Thiero converted both free-throws. Oweh drove and slammed it over his defender to ignite the crowd. Wagner hit a step back three pointer. The ‘Cats took back-to-back poor shot selections and Knox dunked it in transition to extend the Razorback lead back to 11 at 67-56 with 13:02-minutes to play. Williams was pulled to the floor by Aidoo and the play was reviewed. It was called a Flagrant 1 foul. Williams went to the line for 2 Flagrant foul free-throws and made them both to make the score 67-58 Arkansas. Williams got the ball out of the timeout and drew another foul. Almonor missed a three out of the timeout. Chandler drew an offensive foul on Brazile on the defensive end. Willams dribbled it to the paint and scored over Brazile. Wagner drove and scored, making something out of nothing. Arkansas led 69-60 with 10:54-minutes to play. Davis hit a floater to push the lead back to 11 at 71-60 Razorbacks. Williams went to the line for one and the bonus and hit 1 of 2. Williams was called for goaltending on an Ivisic shot. Williams responded with another easy basket over Ivisic. Wagner drove in for another lay-in. Robinson responded with a long two-point jumper. Robinson curled and hit a three of a screen. Carr was called for a foul after a missed walk and missed over-the-back foul all on Arkansas. Thiero headed to the line for two shots and a 75-68 Arkansas lead. Thiero hit 1 of 2 at the line. Robinson drove and found Garrison for a slam over Ivisic. Ivisic hit a deep three over a defender to regain a 79-70 lead. Brea threw it away for a Davis transition score then missed a wide open three on the other end. Almonor nailed a corner three. Wagner was fouled on a drive and went to the line. Wagner hit 1 of 2 at the line to give Arkansas a 82-73 lead. Thiero was fouled on a shot and went to the line to hit 1 of 2. Arkansas led 83-73 with 4-minutes to go. Wagner and Davis converted buckets as the ‘Cats went cold with poor decisions resulting in poor shots, and turnovers. In a scrum along the Arkansas bench, Johnell Davis and Billy Richmond received technical fouls, while Amari Williams picked up a technical for the ‘Cats. The ‘Cats traded buckets in the last 30 seconds and went on to fall 89-79 to Coach Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Final: Kentucky 79 – Arkansas 89

Game Stats:

Arkansas FG %: 55% (52% 3PT – 13 of 25) (75% FT – 12 of 16)

Kentucky FG %: 48% (43% 3PT – 10 of 23) (50% FT – 9 of 18)

Rebounds: 33 – 30 Kentucky

Assist/Turnover Ratio: 11:14

Turnovers: UK (14), Arkansas (8)

Bench Points: 10 – 9 Kentucky

Points off Turnovers: 13 – 12 Kentucky

Fast Break Points: 18 – 5 Arkansas

Paint Points: 38 – 32 Kentucky

Player Stats:

Amari Williams – [(22 points) (11 rebounds) (3 assists) (1 steal)]

Jaxson Robinson – [(20 points) (3 rebounds) (2 assists)]

Ansley Almonor – [(12 points) (3 rebounds) (2 assists)]

Otega Oweh – [(10 points) (2 rebounds)]

Koby Brea – [(5 points) (4 rebounds) (1 assist)]

Travis Perry – [(3 points) (1 rebound)]

Andrew Carr – [(3 points) (4 rebounds) (1 assist) (1 block)]

Brandon Garrison – [(2 points) (3 rebounds) (2 assists) (1 steal)]

Collin Chandler – [(2 points)]

Next Game:

The ‘Cats (15-6, 4-4 SEC) will head to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels (16-6, 5-4 SEC) on Tuesday, February 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.