John Calipari believes Mark Pope has 'done a fabulous job' at Kentucky: "He's got them playing good."

A basketball game will be played on Saturday, in case you haven’t heard. It’s a pretty big one with a lot on the line, Coach Cal’s homecoming at Rupp Arena — now in a red blazer rather than blue. We’ll talk about the emotions that come with that as fans and media debate whether they’ll cheer or boo until they’re blue in the face when Arkansas takes the floor.

That’s the off-court drama, though, and none of it will matter when the ball is tipped at 9 PM ET. The game has to be played and someone has to win the game.

What do you need to know about the matchup? Both coaches shared their (brief) scouting reports on the other a few days before we get to that hostile battle in Lexington.

For John Calipari, he was complimentary of Mark Pope as a head coach and the culture he’s built in his old role, playing a brand of basketball that wins games in today’s game. Kentucky‘s new leader instills confidence in his players and they’re playing well with some big-time wins.

“They’re good. He’s got them playing in a way that you gotta play to win,” Calipari said Thursday. “They play hard, they shoot threes, they spread the court, they — he’s got them playing good. They’re playing in a confident way. He’s done a good job with them. … Mark Pope has done a fabulous job.”

How does Pope see things going in Fayetteville? The Razorbacks are 1-7 in Quad 1 matchups and just 1-6 in the SEC, so it’s hard to rave about the season accolades the way Calipari did talking about Kentucky, but he’s still refusing to overlook the talent they’ve put together.

Arkansas will be hungry and Coach Cal will undoubtedly be looking for his first real statement win, this one circled on his calendar from the minute it was announced. The Cats will be ready for it.

“Arkansas is a terrific, really talented team, and terrific guard in the three and also terrific protecting the rim,” Pope said. “They’re a pretty good dual punch in terms of being able to do both those things, but so it’ll be a big challenge.”

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