Cats Illustrated staff members have thoughts and predictions on Saturday night's game between Kentucky and Arkansas.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena for the first time as an opposing coach after his tenure at Kentucky and the eyes of the nation will be on the game.
Jeff Drummond: On paper, this matchup isn't exactly what we thought it was going to be when John Calipari bolted for Arkansas and took almost all of what was going to be this year's Kentucky team with him. The Razorbacks have been a mess, while Mark Pope and the Wildcats have exceeded a lot of expectations. That said, I think UK will be seeing the best version of Arkansas on Saturday. It's just human nature. And if Lamont Butler remains sidelined by injury, that could be a big factor. I'm not sure the Razorbacks can keep pace with a UK team that scores a lot of points at home, though. The Cats would have to have a horrible shooting night to lose this one, in my view. Give me Kentucky 84, Arkansas 74 with Koby Brea taking MVP honors.
David Sisk: Arkansas looks like a poor man’s Tennessee. They are strong and athletic. They have some skill issues, but unlike Rick Barnes, John Calipari and his staff aren’t nearly as sound defensively. Look for Kentucky to go under screens, clog the lane, and dare the outside shot to be fired just like Tuesday night. Arkansas had a better ball-screen option in Boogie Fland, but recent thumb surgery has put him on a shelf. There is the question on whether Andrew Carr on Lamont Butler will play. So the main issue is that both teams are beaten up. Will the Rupp Arena crowd beat up on John Calipari. Many faithful fans around the state who will be there aren’t sure. I think it is a mixed bag. Some will, some won’t, and others may cheer the former coach. There is no question what will happen during the game. It will be a crazy environment. Big Blue Nation should have plenty to cheer about. Kentucky 77 Arkansas 68.
Travis Graf: Take all of the emotion and excitement out of this game and get down to the nuts and bolts of the basketball part and I really feel comfortable about Kentucky winning by double-digits. Arkansas isn’t disciplined defensively and I can’t see them defending cuts for a full shot clock. Calipari will try to turn this into a rock fight where he’s more comfortable winning with his personnel, but I don’t think Arkansas is efficient enough to score enough with less possessions. Make Arkansas make threes and Kentucky should win the game. Give me Kentucky 82, Arkansas 66.
Justin Rowland: I think the most likely scenario is that Kentucky wins by a comfortable margin, but you have to account for the fact that Calipari has gotten teams to play better than you'd expect with their backs against the wall on the road. We saw it at Kentucky even in the latter years at times. I just think Kentucky is the better basketball team in terms of executing offense, by far. As long as they are ready for the physicality the Hogs will bring they should be able to outshoot them. But with Butler out it's hard to say it will be easy. Kentucky 80, Arkansas 74.
