KSR Today: The Eve of Coach Cal's Homecoming

Have the nerves hit you yet? If not today, they certainly will at some point in the long wait to 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, biting our fingernails and pacing back and forth around the house watching that clock tick. It’s the long-awaited, highly anticipated return of John Calipari, the second-winningest coach in Kentucky basketball history behind only Adolph Rupp — the guy the building’s named after. He won 410 games, six SEC Tournament titles, 32 NCAA Tournament games and one national championship with 50 players selected in the NBA Draft. With four Final Fours in five years to begin his time in Lexington, his highs were higher than just about anyone to pick up a clipboard.

Now at Arkansas leading the Razorbacks in red, he’ll be walking back into Rupp Arena as the enemy, the Wildcats pulling no punches on the hardwood as they look to send Coach Cal back to Fayetteville with a loss.

Nothing personal, it’s just SEC basketball in 2024-25, the toughest conference the sport has ever seen. No time for moral victories in the name of sportsmanship.

We’ve got one more sleep until we get there, but plenty to catch up on and dig into in the meantime.

Mark Pope prepares to coach against his mentor

How is Calipari’s replacement handling the pressure and outside noise leading up to tip-off? The focus is on beating a ‘terrific, really talented team’ in what will be a ‘big challenge’ for the Cats, but he knows Big Blue Nation has had this game circled on the calendar from the minute it was announced.

He’s excited to be a part of all of the ‘drama,’ as he put it, taking on a coach he admires and considers a mentor.

“I love competing against people that I admire and look up to with love. And Cal is certainly one of those people,” Pope said Thursday. “I mean, he’s a Hall of Fame coach, and he’s a legend in the sport. He’s rewritten a lot of the book on how things are done, and he’s one of the best that there ever was. He’s got an unbelievable legacy here at the University of Kentucky.”

John Calipari knows ‘there’ll be some emotions’

For the first time all season, Coach Cal spoke to the Arkansas media ahead of a game rather than sending an assistant coach out to preview the matchup. He knows the magnitude of this event and what it means to both sides — his words carrying real weight when describing what his return to Lexington means. In some ways, it feels like Calipari vs. Kentucky rather than the Razorbacks taking on the Wildcats, even with some familiar faces suiting up.

Coach Cal is preparing for an emotional night for both sides, knowing there may be some mixed feelings with nostalgic cheers overlapping with bitter boos — he is a rival coach now on the opposing bench, after all. No matter the reception, he understands either way.

“Look, I’m an opposing coach walking in the building, and I get that,” Calipari said. “And I’m not bitter in any way. What I did was right for me and my family, but it was also right for Kentucky. … There may be a lot of boos. That doesn’t change anything for me. It doesn’t change the history.”

Kentucky opens as double-digit favorite vs. Arkansas

How do the experts in the desert expect things to unfold on Saturday? Coach Cal is walking in as a double-digit underdog with Kentucky opening as an 11.5-point favorite with the over/under set at 158.5 points.

KenPom and Bart Torvik both like the Cats, as well, the former going with an 84-73 final score and the latter rolling with an 86-74 finish. ESPN’s BPI likes the blue and white by 9.4 points while giving the home team an 81.9 percent chance to pull off the win.

Hard to disagree considering Arkansas’ status as the No. 60 overall team in the NET at 12-8 on the year and 1-6 in the SEC.

Sources Say turns the page from the Tennessee win to Arkansas

We didn’t want to move too quickly past a top-10 road victory for the Cats — certainly not against one of the program’s top SEC rivals. That’s why Sources Say shared one final breakdown of the win in Knoxville before turning the page toward Coach Cal’s return in the latest edition of the show.

What did the win mean for Kentucky as it builds its tournament resume? Any concerns with the late-game execution? How does it all change your view of the Arkansas game in terms of a must-win for Pope and the Cats?

Also, Dennis Johnson joins the show to talk about Jasper’s homecoming this weekend with the Court XIV Classic coming to Versailles — plus his view of UK’s season through the eyes of a five-star signee’s parent.

Kentucky WBB gets a BIG win vs. No. 22 Alabama

It’s not all about the Cats and Hawgs this weekend — we also have plenty to celebrate with yet another big-time victory for Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky women’s basketball team.

Taking on a ranked Alabama squad inside Historic Memorial Coliseum, the Cats earned a 65-56 win with UK shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three, four different players scoring in double figures. Georgia Amoore, unsurprisingly, led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds, followed by Clara Strack with 14 and 14, Amelia Hassett with 11 and seven and Dazia Lawrence with 10 points.

“Really, really good effort, really gritty effort. Sometimes in the SEC, you have to win that way,” Brooks said.

Kentucky (18-2, 7-1) will take on the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners in a true road matchup on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 4 PM ET.

AD and The Bucket are All-Stars

As the current Cats are rolling in Lexington, the former Cats are getting the job done in the NBA with four players named to the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

We already knew Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Karl-Anthony Towns were voted as two of 10 total starters last week. Now, Anthony Davis and Tyler Herro have been named two of the 14 reserves for next month’s All-Star Game.

It’s the 10th All-Star nomination for Davis while Herro is playing in his first ASG as a pro.

Well done, Brow and Bucket.

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Back to getting ready for the homecoming. Go Cats. Beat Arkansas.