Kentucky went into Bud Walton Arena on Saturday and left with an 85-77 upset victory vs. No. 15 Arkansas. The Wildcats’ win over former coach John Calipari was not solely symbolic, but in addition marked their finest win of the season. Kentucky (15-7, 6-3 SEC) entered the weekend 3-6 in opposition to Quad 1 opponents, and this victory over the Razorbacks (16-6, 6-3) may very well be precisely what Mark Pope’s staff wanted to get again on monitor for good.
Entering the sport, Pope and Calipari had similar 38-19 information since taking over their respective packages final season. To draw much more parallels, Arkansas’ upset win over Kentucky final yr on the road bought Calipari’s staff again on monitor after a disappointing begin.
A yr in the past, the Razorbacks began 1-6 in opposition to SEC competitors earlier than going 7-5 the rest of the common season/SEC Tournament to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky nonetheless has its flaws and the accidents might in the end derail a deep run in March, however getting its first win over Calipari since his high-profile exit is likely one of the most essential wins Pope could have teaching his alma mater.
Although the beginning to the SEC play hasn’t been as dire for Kentucky, that is the sort of win that would flip issues round. Kentucky is someway simply 1.5 video games again of Texas A&M for first place within the convention heading into February. Before UK suffered a 25-point loss earlier this week in opposition to Vanderbilt, Pope’s squad had gained 5 consecutive video games in opposition to SEC opponents.
As Kentucky star Otega Oweh put it, this sport was “personal” for his staff.
“It was definitely personal,” Oweh advised the ESPN broadcast. “More the fact that the last time we played, the last time we had, we didn’t do a good job of representing Kentucky. We had to sit with that for a couple of days. We were eager to get back out there.”
Oweh steps up for Kentucky
It’s no secret that the Preseason SEC Player of the Year did not begin the season sturdy. However, since convention play started, Oweh has been the regular scoring presence that Kentucky wants. He has recorded at the least 20 factors in seven of Kentucky’s 9 convention video games, together with a 24-point outburst in opposition to Arkansas.
Those 24 factors marked a season excessive for Oweh, lower than per week after scoring 23 factors in a win over Ole Miss. His resurgence additionally comes at a time when star guard Jaland Lowe has already been dominated out for the season, and large man Jayden Quaintance — Kentucky’s finest NBA Draft prospect on the roster — is with out a timeline to return. The finest model of Kentucky down the stretch will contain Oweh taking part in like this.
Oweh shot 9 of 12 from the ground and added eight rebounds and three assists. Although he missed his lone 3-point try, his staff had one in every of its best outings of the yr. Kentucky shot 6 of 13 (46.2%) from past the arc, which marked the second-highest 3-point taking pictures share of the season.
One of the staples of what made Year 1 of Pope’s tenure so profitable was Oweh’s breakout and the way effectively his staff shot from past the arc. Last season, Kentucky shot 37.5% from the 3-point line as a staff, which ranked No. 24 in Division I. This season has been a distinct story, as Kentucky is taking pictures simply 33.9% from the 3-point line. That quantity ranks in the course of the pack (No. 185) for Division I groups.
This sport was déjà vu for a number of causes. Kentucky was environment friendly from the 3-point line, Oweh regarded just like the participant he was final season, and on prime of that, Kentucky was ready to flip the script after dropping as a favourite at residence final season in opposition to these Razorbacks.
Bracketology implications
Kentucky entered the day as a No. 7 seed in CBS Sports’ newest Bracketology projections, whereas Arkansas was on the No. 5 line. The Wildcats now have three wins over ranked opponents (St. John’s and Tennessee) after beating Arkansas. Notably, Kentucky has six video games remaining in opposition to Quad 1 opponents for the rest of the common season. The Wildcats nonetheless have to play Tennessee, Florida (twice), Auburn, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Bracketology Snapshot: Key video games price monitoring this weekend
Isaac Trotter
There continues to be extra work to be executed for Kentucky to really feel fully protected on Selection Sunday, however that is its finest win of the season — for a lot of causes and it isn’t shut. Sure, Kentucky rallied from a 17-point deficit in opposition to Tennessee on the road earlier this month, however getting a win over a top-15 opponent is a large resume builder for the Wildcats.
Acuff struggles early, however steps up within the second half
The finest NBA Draft prospect taking part in on this sport, with Quaintance sidelined, was Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. The Razorbacks star guard struggled within the first half in opposition to Kentucky (5 factors, 2 of 10 from the ground), however got here on sturdy throughout the last 20 minutes to assist give his staff the lead again halfway by the second half.
Acuff completed with 22 factors and three assists. Acuff is the No. 13-ranked participant within the CBS Sports NBA Draft prospect rankings. During Calipari’s first season at Arkansas, he didn’t produce a first-round decide. The solely participant chosen was Adou Thiero — who beforehand performed for Calipari at Kentucky — within the second spherical. That snapped Calipari’s streak of getting at the least one first-round decide for 17 consecutive years.
The good (and unhealthy information) for Calipari is {that a} new streak will likely be began this summer time. Acuff is arguably one of the best level guard on this class. During SEC play, he has posted some environment friendly numbers whereas additionally producing an incredible turnover-to-assist ratio. Guards win video games in March, and one of the best model of Arkansas will contain Acuff taking part in on the prime degree.
