John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats may have grown up before his eyes on Saturday in Arkansas.

The UK head coach, however, did not get to see it from his usual vantage point.

Calipari was ejected after a pair of technical fouls with 8:19 remaining in the second half. The Razorbacks made three out of four free throws during the sequence to grab a 47-44 lead, and it looked like a frenzied Bud Walton Arena was about to get the best of the Cats.

No. 10 Kentucky had different plans.

With Calipari's longtime assistant coach Kenny Payne taking the reins, the Cats went on a 15-2 run to stun the Arkansas faithful and pave the way to a hard-fought 73-66 victory.

Part of the momentum shift was UK's switch from man-to-man defense to a zone, which Calipari traditionally prefers to avoid. The strategy paid off as the Razorbacks went only 2-for-11 from the field from the 7:49 mark until only 1:25 remained on the clock.

"We had to put Ashton back in the game with four fouls, so we played zone to protect him, and it worked out," Payne said. "I thought it made (Arkansas) a little hesitant from the way they were playing... it made them sort of stagnant. It worked. Coach (Tony) Barbee did a great job with it and the kids did an unbelievable job."

The Cats iced the game by making 16 of 20 free throws down the stretch, including six straight by Immanuel Quickley and Keion Brooks Jr. in the final minute of play.

Brooks, a freshman forward, played a key role in the victory. He was one of five UK players in double-figure scoring, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.

"During that last stretch of the game, all I said to Keion was 'You're going to grow up tonight. I'm not taking you out of the game,'" Payne said. "... He overcame a big hurdle tonight."

Kentucky (13-4, 4-1 SEC) also got double-figures from Nick Richards (17), Ashton Hagans (13), Quickley (13), and Tyrese Maxey (11).

Quickley, a sophomore guard, also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds on a day when the Cats dominated the glass 47-29 to record his first collegiate double-double.

Arkansas (14-3, 3-2 SEC) was led by Mason Jones with 19 points, but he went only 5-for-15 from the field and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.

*****

In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…

THE GOOD:

Kentucky showed some mental toughness and fight that John Calipari has been asking for all season after its head coach was ejected late in the second half. With the crowd in an absolute frenzy and Arkansas seizing the lead, the Cats responded with a 15-2 run to take complete control. It was the best response to adversity we have seen by this team all season.

THE BAD:

The Cats are still experiencing some turnover issues. They had 16 in this one, which, in fairness, isn't a huge number against Arkansas. But most of those were careless in nature. Not valuing all possessions is costing UK chances to push 8- to 10-point leads out to 16, 18, or more.

THE UGLY:

For the second straight game on the road, officiating was a trainwreck. Arkansas made it to the final minute of the first half with only three team fouls. The second half opened with eight consecutive fouls against Kentucky and a 15-0 free-throw advantage for Arkansas before the Calipari ejection. Throw in repeated trips to the scorer's table to review plays that did not really merit engthy delays, and this was another 2-hour, 17-minute exercise in playing 40 minutes of college basketball. The sport has a big problem, and nobody in power seems willing to address it.

GAME BALL:

Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky -- The sophomore guard recorded the first double-double of his college career, scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He was only 4-for-13 from the field, but knocked down a key 3-pointer during UK's decisive run and made all four of his free throws down the stretch.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Time this season that Arkansas had trailed at halftime in Bud Walton Arena.

4th - Foul on UK point guard Ashton Hagans came with 15:00 remaining in the game. He managed to stay on the floor until fouling out with 44 seconds to go.

8 - Offensive rebounds for the Razorbacks. Kentucky had given up 36 to Alabama and South Carolina in its previous two games.

8th - Consecutive win for UK over Arkansas, including three straight in Fayetteville.

+14 - Team-high plus/minus for UK point guard Ashton Hagans.

33% - Field-goal percentage by the Razorbacks (19 of 57).

33-11 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series vs. Arkansas.

47-29 - The Cats' rebounding advantage over the Hogs.

QUOTABLE:

"I seriously doubt it. If he did do it on purpose, I wish he would have given me a heads-up." -- UK assistant coach Kenny Payne when asked if John Calipari intended to get ejected by the officials, leaving him to direct the Cats during the final 8:19.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Rupp Arena against Georgia. It will be a rematch of UK's 78-69 win on Jan. 7 in Athens. Tipoff is slated for 7 ET on ESPN.