No. 12 Kentucky vs. Arkansas: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

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The game you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived, John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks set to take on Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats inside Rupp Arena. Will Coach Cal be booed or cheered as he returns to his old stomping grounds? It doesn’t matter once the ball is tipped. At that point, it’s all about the team in blue scoring more points than the team in red. Simple as that.

What is it going to take for the Cats to beat the Hogs? What else do you need to know about the matchup with some familiar faces back in town? KSR’s got you covered.

Kentucky vs. Arkansas: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Alyssa Lang)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 84
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 19

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
• 1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/28: 78-73 W at No. 8 Tennessee

Arkansas: KenPom 60

• 11/6: 76-60 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/9: 72-67 L vs. Baylor
• 11/13: 65-49 W vs. Troy
• 11/18: 91-72 W vs. Pacific
• 11/22: 79-67 vs. Little Rock
• 11/25: 109-35 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
• 11/28: 90-77 L vs. Illinois
• 12/3: 76-73 W at Miami (FL)
• 12/7: 75-60 W vs. UTSA
• 12/10: 89-87 W vs. Michigan
• 12/14: 82-57 W vs. Central Arkansas
• 12/21: 95-67 W vs. North Carolina A&T
• 12/30: 92-62 W vs. Oakland
• 1/4: 76-52 L at Tennessee
• 1/8: 73-66 L vs. Ole Miss
• 1/11: 71-63 L vs. Florida
• 1/14: 78-74 L at LSU
• 1/18: 83-65 L at Missouri
• 1/22: 68-65 W vs. Georgia
• 1/25: 65-62 L vs. Oklahoma

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 36-14 including a 16-5 record at home vs. Arkansas. The Cats swept the series in 2023-24, starting with a 63-57 win in Fayetteville on Jan. 27, followed by a 111-102 victory in Lexington on March 2. Antonio Reeves led all scorers in the first with 24 points while Reed Sheppard added 14. Seven players finished in double figures in the second matchup, led by Reeves once again with 22 points, followed by DJ Wagner with 19.

John Calipari, in his first season at Arkansas, is 2-4 against the Wildcats in stints at UMass and Memphis while Mark Pope is 0-0 against the Razorbacks. As a player, Pope was 3-1 in the matchup, averaging 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest in the series — including two double-doubles.

Kentucky vs. Arkansas Odds

Spread: Kentucky -11.5
Total: 158.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for Kentucky, the former going with an 84-73 final score and the latter rolling with an 86-74 finish in favor of the Cats. ESPN’s BPI likes UK by 9.4 points while giving the home team an 81.9 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
13.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG

#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.9 APG

#15 – Ansley Almonor
6-7 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
6.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.5 BPG

Arkansas Projected Starters

#1 – Johnell Davis
6-4 – 210 – GUARD – SENIOR
8.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.4 APG

#21 – D.J. Wagner
6-4 – 195 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
10.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG

#11 – Karter Knox
6-6 – 220 – FORWARD – FRESHMAN
6.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.8 APG

#3 – Adou Thiero
6-8 – 220 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
16.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG

#9 – Jonas Aidoo
6-11 – 240 – FORWARD – SENIOR
5.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.8 BPG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:

• In his last five games, Ansley Almonor is averaging 10.2 points while hitting 14 of 23 attempts from three (60.9 percent) in that span.
• Otega Oweh’s double-figure scoring streak continues, going for 10-plus points in every game this season. He’s the only player in the SEC to do so and one of 17 players in all of Division I to hit that mark.
• Jaxson Robinson is averaging 15.3 points per game in league play while connecting on 45.5 percent from three with at least three 3-pointers in each of the last five games, averaging 4.4 per game in that stretch.
• UK’s coaches will participate in Coaches vs. Cancer Week by wearing sneakers with their suits. This year’s sneakers were painted by local pediatric cancer patients and their families in partnership with DanceBlue.

Pregame Storylines

JOHN CALIPARI’S RETURN TO RUPP ARENA

There is no bigger storyline than Coach Cal’s homecoming, returning to Lexington after 15 seasons at Kentucky where he led the Wildcats to 32 NCAA Tournament wins, four Final Fours and seven Elite Eights to go with the national championship in 2012. He is the second all-time winningest coach in UK history, behind only Adolph Rupp. He racked up a 248-26 record as head coach coaching at Rupp Arena with 410 total wins overall between 2009 and 2024. “Do I have a soft spot for Kentucky? Yes, I was there for 15 years. We gave our heart and soul,” Calipari said. “… There’ll be some emotions.”

A HOMECOMING FOR ADOU, DJ AND BIG Z

It’s not just Coach Cal walking through those doors for the first time since leaving Kentucky. Three former Wildcats followed Calipari to Fayetteville in Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner and Zvonimir Ivisic. Thiero is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Wagner is third to round out double-figure scorers with 10.2 points per contest. As for Ivisic, he’s averaging 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game overall, but he’s come on as of late, averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in his last three outings. Three players adored by fans — especially Adou and Big Z — now in red.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE FORMER SIGNEES

It’s not just the former players who followed Calipari to Arkansas among familiar names and faces. Three signees backed away from their commitments and made the move to Fayetteville, as well, headlined by Boogie Fland with Karter Knox and Billy Richmond also joining the group. Fland suffered a broken thumb and is out the remainder of the year, but was the second-leading scorer at 15.1 points per game before the injury. As for the other two, Knox is putting up 6.7 points per contest while Richmond is adding 4.5.

A REVENGE GAME FOR JAXSON ROBINSON

It’s not just the guys in red coming in with an edge. There’s a guy in blue who had this game circled on his calendar from day one. Robinson started his career at Texas A&M in 2020-21 before transferring to Arkansas for his sophomore season in 2021-22. After an ugly breakup, he found his way to BYU with Pope and the rest was history. To open his lone season at Kentucky, Robinson said he has ‘one game definitely circled’ on his calendar — clearly talking about the Razorbacks. When asked about Eric Musselman at SEC Media Day, the UK guard said, “I don’t really have anything to say about Coach Muss, to be honest.” New coaching staff, same color and logo.

LAMONT BUTLER IS OUT FOR KENTUCKY

For a second consecutive game, the Wildcats will be without their starting point guard with Butler dealing with a shoulder injury. He’s been dealing with the issue for several weeks now, initially listed as a game-time decision vs. Alabama on Jan. 18 and fighting through to play against the Crimson Tide, then again at Vanderbilt before sitting out at Tennessee. Where do things stand with Butler long-term? “I know I’m not sharing all the information on Lamont,” Pope said. “We’ll kinda figure that out as time goes by. We’re just trying to figure that part out.” Until he returns, it’ll be Robinson starting at point guard — although Amari Williams can play point center, too, as he showed against the Volunteers.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

New members can get KSR+ for seven days for just $1.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

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