John Calipari made his highly anticipated return to Rupp Arena late Saturday night. Arkansas entered the game just 1-6 in SEC play and a near double digit underdog. They left Rupp Arena with a double digit win.
Kentucky fans were, in large part, pretty vocal and adamant about moving on from Calipari a season ago. So, when he left they insisted it was for the best, even if it was to another program in the SEC and a historically good program.
Those words of confidence turned into shouts of arrogance as the game got closer. However, in the end what happened on Saturday was what happened 248 times while he was in Lexington. He won at Rupp. This one had to sting for Kentucky fans. Not just because they lost to their former coach, but also because the three former starters he took with him – DJ Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Adou Thiero combined for 52 points.
Sure, this may be a long shot considering there were two teams between the in-state rivals in the latest AP Poll. However, one of those two teams, Iowa State, lost at home on Saturday and will slip in the polls. That leaves Duke, and a handful of very tough SEC games, as the only thing standing between a potential No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown in basketball.
As good as these programs have been over the last 5 years, there has never been a game between the two that even featured a top ten matchup. Can you imagine what these two fanbases would do to each other with a 1 vs 2 regular season game?
Tennessee has been the most up and down emotional roller coaster that Knoxville has ever seen. That’s saying something, considering what happened during their 2018 football coaching search debacle, not to mention the Lane Kiffin era.
Tennessee came into Saturday losing three of their last four and falling down to No. 8 in the polls. Now, maybe the overreaction should have been avoided considering those three losses were by eight combined points. However, the loss at home to Kentucky was definitely concerning considering it was their first loss in Knoxville all season and only their fifth in the last four years.
Next up was Florida, a team that beat them by 30 less than a month ago and a team they’d be facing without two starters and just seven scholarship players. Naturally, the Vols won by 20. Florida hadn’t been held under 70 points all season. The Vols held them to 44.
Missouri has been a cute and fun redemption story for most of the season. However, it may be time to take the Tigers seriously. Missouri went to Mississippi State and ran them out of their own gym.
Missouri was 0-18 in conference play a season ago. They are currently 6-2 with one of their losses being on the road against No. 1 Auburn. They also own the best combination of wins all season in the conference with their 27 point road win over No. 14 Mississippi State Saturday and their 83-82 win on the road over No. 5 Florida.
South Carolina’s 2025 season has been one to forget and there are still nine games left. The Gamecocks are dead last in the conference standings and have lost nine straight SEC games. Here’s the thing though, at least they’re losing close. Five of those nine games have been by five points or less and four of those losses are by three points or less against top 15 teams.
Again, South Carolina is definitely last in the standings and there are no moral victories in the midst of a nine game losing streak. That being said, LSU is the worst team in the conference. They just lost by 31 at home to Texas. That’s the largest loss at home to an unranked team by the Tigers in over 55 years. They also didn’t have a starter score over seven points in Saturday’s game. How is that even possible?
