Saturday night will mark the 58th game of the Mark Pope era at Kentucky Basketball. While there have been many marquee games so far, this one at Arkansas could serve as the turning point.
It was 364 days ago when John Calipari and the Razorbacks, in Coach Cal’s first game back at Rupp Arena since leaving for Arkansas in April 2024, pulled off an unexpected victory against Mark Pope and the Wildcats. Arkansas was just 12-8 overall and 1-6 in the SEC at the time. Kentucky was 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, coming off a huge road win at Tennessee that previous Tuesday. It felt like the Wildcats were about to take off and get back into the Top 10 of the AP Poll.
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Instead, Arkansas beat Kentucky 89-79, which turned its season around. Arkansas won four of its last five regular-season games, won a game in the SEC Tournament and lost its second in overtime on a buzzer beater, and then upset Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
While Kentucky also advanced to the Sweet 16, it never generated any real momentum despite multiple wins over Top 15 teams in February and March. This season has followed a similar pattern. The Wildcats, despite a five-game winning streak in SEC play this season, haven’t looked like the team a lot of us thought they would be this season.
Mark Pope made a comment at UK Preseason Media Day that, I for one, didn’t think too much of when he said it. He said this year’s team is a lot younger than last year’s team, but he said that as a back burner to the talent this team had coming into the season. So far, this team’s youth has shown, sometimes glaringly. Whether it’s getting outclassed by really good teams or not closing out games the Wildcats should have won, this team isn’t as experienced as last year’s was.
That’s why, though, this game on Saturday could be the turning point of not only this season, but the Mark Pope era at Kentucky. Winning this game against a very talented Razorbacks team and Coach Cal, on the road, would be a confidence boost for a team that needs it. Expectations are still there for this team, and winning this game could restore hope that this team can make a run in February and March.
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Let’s take a look at this talented Arkansas team, players to watch, keys to the game, and score prediction.
Players to watch on Arkansas
1. No. 5: Darius Acuff Jr. — 6-3, 190 lbs. Fr. Guard; DETROIT (IMG Academy in Florida)
Stats: 20.9 pts, 2.9 rebs, 133 ast.-43 TO, 49.7 FG%, 41.4 3-PT FG%, 78.5 FT%, 33.4 mpg
Acuff is a six-time SEC Freshman of the Week with 12 games scoring 20+ points and four games with 10+ assists. He’s on the Midseason Watch Lists for both the John Wooden and Bob Cousy Awards, as well as the Oscar Robertson and Wayman Tisdale Trophies.
This is an incredibly talented player. In a deep Freshman class this season in college basketball, Acuff may be the best. He certainly had the pedigree coming in. A five-star prospect, ranked as high as No. 5 by 247Sports and No. 7 by ESPN and the No. 1 point guard in the nation by both, Acuff was the 2025 Allen Iverson National Player of the Year, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and MaxPreps HS Player of the Year, and a McDonald’s All-American.
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Acuff can also shoot, with nine games making at least three three-pointers. Durability is also a big part of Acuff’s game, with 30+ minutes in every SEC game, including 35+ minutes in five of them.
2. No. 1: Meleek Thomas — 6-5, 185 lbs. Fr. Guard; PITTSBURGH (Overtime Elite in Georgia)
Stats: 15.2 pts, 3.6 rebs, 42% FG, 39.5 3-PT FG%, 83.6 FT%, 27.2 mpg
Thomas is already a really great shooter. He’s on pace to set the single-season record for three-point field goal percentage in SEC play, currently shooting 48.7 percent. Four times this season, Thomas has made four or more three-pointers, including six against James Madison and five against South Carolina.
A five-star that ranked as high as No. 7 by Rivals and No. 11 by ESPN and was rated the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation by five rankings, Thomas was a McDonald’s All-American and No. 8 on the USA TODAY High School Sports basketball rankings: Top 15 players in the 2025 class.
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3. No. 7: Trevon Brazille — 6-10, 230 lbs. Sr. Forward; SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Missouri Transfer)
Stats: 12.3 pts, 6.9 rebs, 24 blk, 32 stl, 54.4 FG%, 39.7 3-PT FG%, 73.8 FT%, 28.5 mpg
Brazille is a mismatch from heck. He can do so many things and is so athletic. Whoever is guarding him is in for a challenge.
Brazille has four double-doubles this season and only has three games with fewer than five rebounds. Those stats, along with three games of at least four three-pointers, make him a tough cover. Kentucky must account for Brazille at all times Saturday night.
4. No. 12: Malique Ewin — 6-10, 240 lbs. Sr. Forward; LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (Florida State Transfer)
Stats: 9.9 pts, 5 rebs/gm., 62.3 FG%, 2-3 3-PT FG, 72.4 FT%, 17.8 mpg
Ewin cannot be forgotten with all of the talented players on the Razorbacks. Since scoring 20 points against Houston in December, a game where he was 10-of-17 from the free-throw line, Ewin has eight games scoring in double figures.
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This is not only a really good scorer, but Ewin is also really efficient from the floor. Since the Houston game, Ewin has just three games shooting below 50 percent from the floor.
Last year at Florida State, Ewin led the ACC and ranked 17th nationally by shooting 59.6% from the field and led the Seminoles by averaging 7.6 rebounds. Ewin was second on the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game.
5. No. 11: Karter Knox — 6-6, 220 lbs. So. Wing; TAMPA, Fla.
Stats: 8.9 pts, 4.9 rebs, 47.1 FG%, 39.4 3-PT FG%, 74.2 FT%, 23.2 mpg
Another really good shooter, Knox’s older brother is Kevin Knox II, who played at Kentucky in 2017-18. Kevin was the 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year and the ninth overall pick in that year’s NBA Draft.
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Knox has six double-digit point games this season, including a double-double. Four of those games have come in SEC play.
6. No. 24: Billy Richmond III — 6-6, 205 lbs. So. Wing; MEMPHIS, Tenn.
Stats: 8.3 pts, 3.6 rebs, 54.9 FG%, 25% 3-PT FG, 76.2 FT%, 22 mpg
Billy’s father, Billy Jr., played for John Calipari at Memphis from 2002 to 2004.
Richmond has scored in double figures nine times, and he has started two games in SEC play. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports says Richmond is on track to be one of the best utility players in the country.
7. No. 21: D.J. Wagner — 6-4, 190 lbs. Jr. Guard; CAMDEN, N.J. (Kentucky Transfer)
Stats: 7.5 pts, 1.3 rebs, 40.8 FG%, 34.8 3-PT FG%, 75.7 FT%, 23.9 mpg
Like Richmond, Wagner also comes from an athletic family that has ties to Calipari. Wagner’s father, Dajuan, played for Calipari at Memphis and was drafted sixth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002.
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Wagner has scored in double figures nine times and has two games with seven assists.
In his lone season with the Wildcats, Wagner averaged 9.9 points and had 96 assists.
8. No. 23: Nick Pringle — 6-10, 230 lbs. Gr-Sr. Forward; SEABROOK, S.c. (South Carolina Transfer)
Stats: 5.5 pts, 4.4 rebs, 68.9 FG%, 66% FT, 20.2 mpg
A key part of Alabama’s 2024 NCAA Final Four team, averaging 6.2 rebounds per game throughout the Crimson Tide’s run in the NCAA Tournament, Pringle has three games in double figures this season.
Pringle is really efficient on the floor. Kentucky is going to have to make him work for his points off the bench and knock him off his rhythm offensively.
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Head Coach: John Calipari (2nd Season, 38-19; 34th Season Overall, 893-282) — 66 years old
There isn’t a Kentucky fan who doesn’t know almost everything there is to know about John Calipari. He’s a Hall of Fame head coach who led Kentucky for 15 seasons and delivered them a national championship in 2012. The Wildcats went to four Final Fours in five seasons, including two national championship games, and won 38 games twice.
Calipari won four SEC Coach of the Year awards while at Kentucky and, in 2015, won the Naismith, AP, and NABC Coach of the Year Awards.
Everywhere Calipari has gone, he’s been to a Final Four. In nine seasons at Memphis, the Tigers were within seconds of winning the national championship and had lost just once prior to that season. He was a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year, leading the Tigers to four straight Sweet 16s before leaving.
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Calipari’s first college head coaching job was at UMass for eight seasons, leading the Minutemen to the Final Four in 1996 and the Elite Eight in 1995. The Minutemen won both the A-10 regular season and tournament championships from 1992 to 1996, and Calipari was a three-time A-10 Coach of the Year.
In addition, Calipari was also the head coach of the then-New Jersey Nets for two-plus seasons, leading the Nets to the NBA Playoffs in 1998 as the No. 8 seed before losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Calipari would join the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the 1999-2000 season as an assistant, with the 76ers losing to Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Keys to the Game
1. On-ball defense
The Wildcats simply cannot let this Arkansas offense get into a rhythm. In the Razorbacks’ SEC opener against Tennessee, the Volunteers’ on-ball defense was atrocious. They let Darius Acuff get to the rim at will, and they also had no answer for Trevon Brazille and Meleek Thomas. Kentucky is similar to Tennessee, but the Wildcats will have to do a much better job of pressuring the ball and preventing Arkansas from getting downhill.
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2. Rebounding
Don’t let Arkansas’s flash fool you. This team is tough on the boards, and they’re also deep in that aspect. Kentucky has to match that toughness at a much better level than it did against Vanderbilt. The intensity must be there Saturday night. Otherwise, this game may be over by halftime. Blowout losses must stop, and rebounding is a key way to prevent them from happening again. Tough teams don’t get blown out.
3. Limiting turnovers
Tough teams also take care of the ball and don’t make careless turnovers. The Wildcats need to be smarter with the ball and stop making careless and head-scratching turnovers. Arkansas will take advantage of turnovers. The Razorbacks can run. Don’t give them easy opportunities to do so.
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4. Three-point shooting
Arkansas is a very good three-point shooting team. Four players with at least 50 three-point attempts are shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Kentucky’s on-ball defense and perimeter defense are going to be paramount on Saturday.
In addition, the Wildcats will have to knock down some shots from beyond the arc. That will come from ball movement and getting guys like Collin Chandler open to knock down shots from beyond the perimeter.
Score Prediction: Razorbacks 87 — Wildcats 84
If Kentucky is ready to battle from the opening tip, they can keep this game close. Unfortunately, Arkansas is not only more talented but also healthier. That is, what I believe, will be the difference in Saturday’s game.
