No. 12 Kentucky men’s basketball suffered a shocking defeat inside Rupp Arena to the John Calipari-led Arkansas Razorbacks by a score of 89-79 on Saturday.
The contest marked the first time Calipari had returned to Rupp Arena since resigning as UK head coach in April to leave for Fayetteville.
Kentucky entered the contest on the back of a huge upset win over No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville in which the Cats, essentially without two starters, handed the Vols their first home loss of the season.
Looking to keep the momentum rolling, Kentucky marched out the same starting lineup as it did in Thompson-Boling Arena, bringing out Otega Oweh, Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea, Ansley Almonor and Amari Williams. The Cats were once again without Lamont Butler, but did have Andrew Carr back playing more minutes.
With a chorus of boos ringing out as Calipari made his long-awaited return to Rupp Arena — and special mini-choruses of boos reserved for former Cats and Kentucky commits Karter Knox, Adou Thiero, Zvonimir Ivisic and D.J. Wagner — Kentucky started the game hot, leading 18-12 after five minutes of play.
Kentucky would hold onto this lead for much of the first half, adding Travis Perry, Collin Chandler, Carr and Brandon Garrison into the rotation, but Arkansas would begin to chip away at the gap little by little.
With just over six minutes remaining in the half, there was a notable shift as Calipari’s Hogs took the lead.
With abysmal free-throw shooting limiting the Wildcats, they’d go into the halftime break down by one.
Kicking off the second half, things went from bad to worse for the home Cats as they returned to the court flat and uninspiring.
Shortly after National Championship winning former UK coach Tubby Smith was brought out during a timeout, Kentucky would find itself down by double digits in its home gym.
As time continued to wind, Kentucky found itself struggling to chip into the Hog advantage despite both Williams and Robinson reaching the 20-point mark with over seven minutes remaining in the contest.
With four minutes remaining, Kentucky found itself, once again, trailing by double digits as a loss seemed imminent.
Around the two-minute mark, fans began to pour out of the venue in mass as the loss was all but certain. Just moments later, the buzzer sounded, giving Calipari his victory inside Rupp Arena.
Kentucky will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 4, on the road against No. 23 Ole Miss inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi. Tipoff against the Rebels is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.