Saturday’s atmosphere in Rupp Arena was about as impressive as it had been in the history of the building. Students were lined up the night prior to watch a once-in-a-lifetime matchup. The energy in the hours leading to tipoff was unlike anything you’ll ever see.
That is, until John Calipari spoiled all the fun in his return to Lexington.
In a game that had been hyped up for nearly a full week, Calipari’s unranked Arkansas Razorbacks (13-8; 2-6) came into Rupp and laid a smackdown on the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (16-6; 4-4 SEC) by a final score of 89-79. Without starting point guard Lamont Butler (shoulder), Kentucky struggled to contain DJ Wagner (15 points, eight assists) and Johnell Davis (18 points, six assists, five rebounds). Former ‘Cat Adou Thiero led all Razorback scorers with 21 points.
Jaxson Robinson and Amari Williams led the way for Kentucky with 20 and 22 points, respectively. Williams chipped in 11 rebounds for his first 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the season and the fourth of his career. UK didn’t shoot the ball poorly (48.4 FG%, 10-23 3PT) but the defense was abysmal from start to finish. 89 points marked an SEC-high for Arkansas (previous high 74) as the Hogs shot 55.2 percent overall and 13-25 from deep.
Kentucky got punked. No excuses. The Wildcats have now dropped three of its last four contests.
After the pregame festivities wrapped up, it was finally time for some basketball. And we were treated to a terrific start in the opening segments. Arkansas came out shooting the ball better than at any point in the season — a sign of things to come. The Hogs connected on its first three triples and finished the half 9-18 from deep. But Kentucky was matching Calipari’s squad shot for shot.
Arkansas’ ball pressure forced the Wildcats into some untimely live ball turnovers. Kentucky was up to eight turnovers in the first half but allowed just six points off of those miscues. Robinson was rolling early with a trio of three-pointers before the break while Williams was doing a little bit of everything with 11 points (5-5 FG), five rebounds, and three assists. Some momentum-turning shots from Travis Perry and Collin Chandler helped keep the offense rolling.
But the Razorbacks took a 46-45 lead into the intermission despite Kentucky shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 7-10 from long range. Arkansas’ hot shooting didn’t slow down after the midgame break either.
The Hogs quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead early into the second half. Kentucky responded with a couple of much-needed buckets, but the defense simply could not get any stops on the other end. Arkansas took a 69-60 lead into the under 12-minute timeout. At one point, UK missed eight of nine shots.
Williams continued to feast inside against Zvonimir Ivisic, keeping Kentucky within striking distance. UK trimmed the deficit down to as little as six, but an immediate 5-0 response from Arkansas (off some bad Wildcat turnovers) pushed it back to 11 with roughly five minutes to go. It would only get worse from there. Arkansas continued to pile it on, leading by as many as 14 points before settling on the 10-point win.
This one stings.
