Kentucky at Arkansas: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

Mark Pope vs. John Calipari Vol. 1 did not go well for the Kentucky Wildcats last February, Arkansas coming to Lexington and leaving with a double-digit victory. Can the road underdog return the favor with another upset in Vol. 2? This group will get its shot in Fayetteville, something it could use right about now, coming off a 25-point loss at Vanderbilt earlier in the week.

What do you need to know about the Cats and Hawgs at Bud Walton Arena? KSR gets you ready to go.

Kentucky at Arkansas: How to Watch, Listen

• Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Fran Fraschilla)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 385

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most passionate online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

Season Rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 33

• 11/4: 77-51 W vs. Nicholls
• 11/7: 107-59 W vs. Valparaiso
• 11/11: 96-88 L at No. 12 Louisville
• 11/14: 99-53 W vs. Eastern Illinois
• 11/18: 83-66 L vs. No. 17 Michigan State
• 11/21: 88-46 W vs. Loyola (Md.)
• 11/26: 104-54 W vs. Tennessee Tech
• 12/2: 67-64 L vs. No. 16 North Carolina
• 12/5: 94-59 L vs. No. 11 Gonzaga
• 12/9: 103-67 W vs. NC Central
• 12/13: 72-60 W vs. Indiana
• 12/20: 78-66 W vs. No. 22 St. John’s
• 12/23: 99-85 W vs. Bellarmine
• 1/3: 89-74 L at No. 14 Alabama
• 1/7: 73-68 L vs. Missouri
• 1/10: 92-68 W vs. Mississippi State
• 1/14: 75-74 W at LSU
• 1/17: 80-78 W at No. 24 Tennessee
• 1/21: 85-80 W vs. Texas
• 1/24: 72-63 W vs. Ole Miss
• 1/27: 80-55 L at No. 18 Vanderbilt

Arkansas: KenPom 22

• 11/3: 109–77 W vs. Southern
• 11/8: 69–66 L at No. 22 Michigan St.
• 11/11: 93–56 W vs. Central Arkansas
• 11/14: 79–75 W vs. Samford
• 11/18: 84–83 W vs. Winthrop
• 11/21: 115–61 W vs. Jackson St.
• 11/27: 80–71 L vs. No. 4 Duke
• 12/3: 89–80 W vs. No. 6 Louisville
• 12/6: 82–58 W vs. Fresno St.
• 12/13: 93–86 W vs. No. 16 Texas Tech
• 12/16: 108–80 W vs. Queens
• 12/20: 94–85 L vs. No. 8 Houston
• 12/29: 103–74 W vs. James Madison
• 1/3: 86–75 W vs. No. 19 Tennessee
• 1/7: 94–87 W at Mississippi
• 1/10: 95–73 L at Auburn
• 1/14: 108–74 W vs. South Carolina
• 1/17: 90–76 L at Georgia
• 1/20: 93–68 W vs. No. 15 Vanderbilt
• 1/24: 85–81 W vs. LSU
• 1/27: 83–79 W at Oklahoma

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 36-15 against Arkansas, including a slight 11-8 edge in Fayetteville.

You don’t need me to remind you about the most recent meeting between these programs last February — an 89-79 win for Coach Cal in his return to Rupp Arena. The Razorbacks shot 55% from the field and 52% from three, led by a combined 52 points from Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner and Zvonimir Ivisic. Amari Williams had 22 and 11 in the losing effort while Jaxson Robinson added 20.

That’s Mark Pope’s lone matchup against Arkansas. As for John Calipari, he’s 3-4 against Kentucky in his career — one leading the Razorbacks (1-0), one at Memphis (1-0) and five at UMass (1-4).

Kentucky vs. Arkansas Odds

The Wildcats have opened as 7.5-point underdogs in Fayetteville with the over-under set at 162.5 points.

As for the computers, KenPom gives UK just a 27 percent chance to pull off the win with a projected loss of 84-77. Bart Torvik is even lower on the Wildcats’ chances at just 21 percent, rolling with an 86-77 loss. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor has it closer to a split, giving the blue and white a 39.1 percent chance to get back in the win column.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#1 – Denzel Aberdeen
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.1 APG

#5 – Collin Chandler
6-5 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
8.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.1 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – SENIOR
16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.5 APG

#4 – Andrija Jelavic
6-11 – 225 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
5.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.6 APG

#24 – Malachi Moreno
7-0 – 250 – CENTER – FRESHMAN
8.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.8 APG

Arkansas Potential Starters

#5 – Darius Acuff
6‑3 – 190 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
20.2 PPG, 6.4 APG, 2.9 RPG 

#1 – Meleek Thomas
6‑5 – 185– GUARD – FRESHMAN
15.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.8 APG

#11 – Karter Knox
6‑6 – 220 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
8.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.2 APG

#7 – Trevon Brazile
6‑10 – 230 – FORWARD – SENIOR
12.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 6.9 RPG 

#23 – Nick Pringle
6‑10 – 230 – FORWARD – SENIOR
5.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.8 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Over the last two seasons, Kentucky has 10 wins over AP Top 25 opponents and 14 Quad 1 victories
• Otega Oweh has scored in double figures in all 21 games for Kentucky this season and has now reached double figures in 54 of his 57 games as a Wildcat. He is one of 19 players in DI to reach double figures in each of his team’s games this year. His 14 20-point games against SEC competition during his time at UK has him tied for second in the program since 1996-97 with Jamal Murray and behind only Antonio Reeves (19).
• Kentucky has played the 11th-toughest schedule in the country this season, according to the NET, and is projected to have the toughest remaining schedule in the country.
• UK is 14-5 all-time against former head coaches (Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, John Calipari), including a win over Pitino and St. John’s this year in the CBS Sports Classic

Pregame Storylines

POPE EYES REVENGE VS. CALIPARI

Will he get booed or cheered? How about the former players? None of it mattered when the ball was tipped, Coach Cal leading Arkansas to an 89-79 win inside Rupp Arena, the Razorbacks shooting 55% from the field and 52% from three with 13 makes from beyond the arc. Three of the four leading scorers for the Hawgs used to wear the blue and white — Adou Thiero with 21, DJ Wagner with 17 and Zvonimir Ivisic with 14 — while a fourth (Karter Knox, 10 points) was a former pledge.

Calipari called Mark Pope the man for the job in Lexington ahead of this second matchup and stressed the Wildcats’ return trip to Fayetteville is just another game.

“What I would say: it’s the next game. We’re in a different position,” Calipari said. “We kinda flipped the switch (last season)… We got them pretty good, but we were 1-6 (in SEC play). I didn’t care who it was; we needed to beat somebody. And now, the only significance of the game to me is we need to keep winning.”

For Pope, it’s an emotional battle — but all of them are, especially considering the highs and lows this team has experienced.

“We’re on the emotional roller coaster, it’s just what this year is for us right now,” Pope added. “I think every game is so emotionally charged for us. Every game is so big, and this one is for all the reasons. It’s all the right reasons.”

HOW DO YOU SLOW DOWN DARIUS ACUFF?

When you think of Coach Cal, you think of elite point guard play, and he’s got another one in five-star freshman Darius Acuff. He’s averaging 20.2 points, 6.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds this season on 50/41/79 splits with 12 20-point efforts and one 30-ball. Neutralizing the 6-3 rookie will be a top priority for the Wildcats — and that’s why Pope is preparing not one, not two, but three game plans for him.

“Darius Acuff is a special player. … When you face a player like that, you really have to have three game plans and you alternate through them,” he said. “So we’ll try and give him as many different looks as we can, but he’s playing at an unbelievable level right now. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Whatever it takes, right?

ARKANSAS IS ONE OF THE BEST OFFENSES IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

There is nothing archaic about this Calipari offense, ranked No. 6 nationally in efficiency, No. 9 in turnover rate, No. 19 in effective field goal percentage and No. 25 in three-point percentage while also sitting in the 95th percentile in points per possession at the rim.

Acuff is the star of the show, but Meleek Thomas is also averaging 15.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG while Trevon Brazile is putting up 12.3 PPG and 6.9 RPG. Add in some balance deeper in the rotation with Malique Ewin (9.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG), Karter Knox (8.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG), Billy Richmond III (8.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG) and DJ Wagner (7.5 PPG, 2.5 APG), and that’s how you get the No. 13 scoring offense in the country (89.3 PPG).

“I think they’re making a lot of sense with each other right now,” Pope said of Arkansas. “Their team is making a lot of sense together. I think they’re getting great effort from guys. They’re really playing eight guys and they found a way to fit the pieces together pretty good.”

GOOD NEWS? KENTUCKY RESPONDS WELL IN THIS SPOT

The blowout losses are getting old — Kentucky should never have an average loss margin of 30.0 PPG in two games in Nashville this season — but what if I told you the Wildcats are almost perfect under Pope in follow-up performances? Since Pope took the job in 2024, he is 8-1 outright coming off 10-plus-point losses and 6-3 against the spread. The only loss came against Missouri after the blowout at Alabama, and UK blew an eight-point lead in the final four minutes of that one.

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 from Bud Walton Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction immediately after the game in Fayetteville, 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.

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