Kentucky vs. Arkansas: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

After drumming Alabama at home, Kentucky took another step forward by rallying to beat Mississippi State on the road (shoutout, Reed Sheppard). The Cats haven’t won three games in a row since early January. They have a very good chance to meet that mark Saturday vs. a struggling Arkansas team.

Kentucky beat the Razorbacks 63-57 earlier this season in Fayetteville. It was an ugly game in Arkansas led for over 25 minutes. The Razorbacks were up by six with 15 minutes to go until Kentucky finally took control to come away with the road win. Since then, Arkansas hasn’t really done much, going 4-4 to drop to 5-10 in league play, 14-14 overall. Kentucky has totaled only one more win during that stretch, but the vibes on the Cats’ sideline are much better than those on the Razorbacks’.

Kentucky has a great chance to get some momentum rolling in home games vs. Arkansas and Vanderbilt before traveling to Tennessee for the season finale next Saturday. Coming off another big win, are the Cats past a letdown performance? Let’s break it down.

How to Watch

Arkansas (14-14, 5-10 SEC) vs. No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC)
1:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, March 2 | Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)

• TV: CBS (Brad Nessler, Jay Wright)
• Streaming: CBSSports.com
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 or 191 and the SiriusXM App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

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Last Five

Kentucky: NET 20, KenPom 18

• 2/13: 75-63 W vs. Ole Miss
• 2/17: 70-59 W at No. 13 Auburn
• 2/21: 75-74 L at LSU
• 2/24: 117-95 W vs. No. 13 Alabama
• 2/27: 91-89 W at Mississippi State

Arkansas: NET 125, KenPom 121

• 2/14: 92-63 L vs. No. 8 Tennessee
• 2/17: 71-67 L at Mississippi State
• 2/20: 78-71 W at Texas A&M
• 2/24: 88-73 W vs. Missouri
• 2/27: 85-82 L vs. Vanderbilt

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Series History

Kentucky leads the series vs. Arkansas 35-14, 15-5 in Lexington, and 12-7 in the John Calipari Era. Eric Musselman is 3-3 vs. the Cats since taking the job at Arkansas in 2018, but he is undefeated in Rupp, winning last season’s game by 15 and in 2021 by just one point; in fact, the Razorbacks had won three straight in the series before Antonio Reeves scored 37 points to give the Cats a big win in Fayetteville last year.

Reeves led the way for Kentucky vs. Arkansas again earlier this season, scoring a game-high 24 points to help the Cats come back on an ugly day in Fayetteville. Kentucky shot only 9-31 in the first half and trailed the Razorbacks for over 25 minutes. Thankfully, the Cats clicked into gear down the stretch, thanks in part to Reeves and Reed Sheppard, who finished with 14 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.

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One play from every win over Arkansas since 1995

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Kentucky vs. Arkansas Odds via FanDuel

Spread: Kentucky -12.5
Total: 166.5 points

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Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#15 – DJ Wagner
6-4 • 192 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
10.2 PPG, 3.5 APG

#12 – Antonio Reeves
6-6 • 195 • GUARD • SENIOR
19.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG

#1 – Justin Edwards
6-8 • 203 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
8.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG

#4 – Adou Thiero
6-8 • 222 • GUARD • SOPHOMORE
8.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG

#2 – Ugonna Onyenso
7-1 • 226 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
3.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.7 BPG

Head Coach: John Calipari (32nd season, 15th at UK) – 852-261 overall, 407-121 at UK

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Arkansas Starting Lineup

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#3 – El Ellis
6-3 • 180 • GUARD • SENIOR
6.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.7 APG

#4 – Davonte Davis
6-4 • 185 • GUARD • SENIOR
5.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG

#0 – Khalif Battle
6-5 • 185 • GUARD • SENIOR
12.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.2 APG

#7 – Tramon Mark
6-6 • 185 • GUARD • JUNIOR
16.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.7 APG

#8 – Chandler Lawson 
6-8 • 210 • FORWARD • SENIOR
3.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG

Head Coach: Eric Musselman (5th season at Arkansas, 9th overall): 109-55 at ARK, 219-90 overall

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Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

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Pregame Storylines

WILL TRE MITCHELL PLAY?

Mitchell has missed the last four games with a shoulder injury suffered vs. Ole Miss. On Wednesday, John Calipari said he wants to see Mitchell go through a couple of practices before clearing him for game action. Even if Mitchell does play, Calipari warned he won’t be at 100%. On Friday’s radio show, Ryan “Scoop” Lemond said he’s hearing Mitchell will play limited minutes vs. the Razorbacks. We’ll be monitoring his status right up until the Cats take the floor for warmups on Saturday.

ARKANSAS: STILL NOT GOOD

It’s wild to think Arkansas was ranked in the Top 15 of the AP Poll coming into this season. The Razorbacks are 14-14 and a measly 5-10 in conference play, proof that restocking your roster via the transfer portal doesn’t always work. Arkansas actually had some momentum rolling, winning back-to-back games vs. Texas A&M and Missouri for the first time since December…and then the Razorbacks lost to Vanderbilt at home on Tuesday night. Ouch.

Even though the Razorbacks are struggling, Kentucky can’t afford to look ahead, and as we’ve seen on more than one occasion, is not past losing in Rupp Arena. John Calipari is preparing accordingly, warning his team about a “trap game” and reminding them of the ugly performance in Fayetteville.

MORE NUCLEAR FIVE?

Kentucky’s struck gold in the form of the “Nuclear Five” lineup of Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, and Zvonimir Ivisic. After lighting up Alabama with 28 points in six minutes, the combination shifted a bit at Mississippi State to include DJ Wagner and/or Adou Thiero due to foul trouble but was nearly as potent. How many minutes will that group play vs. Arkansas? How will it be impacted by Tre Mitchell returning to the lineup? We’ll find out soon enough.

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