Mark Pope has suffered his worst loss at Kentucky thus far. Pope’s No. 12-ranked Wildcats fell 89-79 at home to Arkansas Saturday afternoon — and it wasn’t an ordinary upset defeat. The contest marked Pope’s first meeting with former Kentucky head coach John Calipari, whom Pope replaced after Calipari left for Arkansas last April.

The Kentucky Wildcats have played eight SEC games and currently sit with a 4-4 record in conference play. If the Wildcats want to have a winning record in SEC play, they have to find a way to finish 6-4 or better in SEC play and to do that;

John Calipari made his triumphant return to Rupp Arena, defeating Kentucky 89-79. It was a painful loss for many Kentucky fans, who were hungry to exact revenge on Calipari for leaving the program after initially saying he was returning for the 2024-25 season.