John Calipari will make his first visit to Rupp Arena on Saturday since leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. His longtime coaching rival wants Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with respect.

Heading into the matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers, not many believed Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats would win without point guard Lamont Butler. Andrew Carr played through his back injury, but after one short stint in the game coming off the bench,

The Razorbacks lost their freshman phenom Boogie Fland for the season, which is a massive blow as he was the team's best offensive weapon. Fland was committed to Kentucky before Coach Calipari made the move to Arkansas.

With a 17-3 record, Tennessee ranks No. 8 nationally behind Auburn, Duke, Iowa State, Alabama, Florida, Houston, and Michigan State. Kentucky is on their trail at No. 12 with only Marquette, Purdue, and Kansas in between. When: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. ET

The Wildcats enter Excite Night ranked No. 7 in the NCAA with an average team score of 196.867. The Wildcats rank in the top ten on three apparatus, slotting in at fifth on VT (49.300), 12th on UB (49.125), ninth on BB (49.158), and sixth on FX (49.283).

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN. Fans looking to watch this college basketball game can do so by using FuboTV, which offers a free trial and $30 off your first month, or DirecTV Stream, which also offers a free trial. SlingTV doesn’t offer a free trial but does have other promotional offers available.

Kentucky men’s basketball returns to the road Tuesday when the Wildcats play the Tennessee Volunteers in an SEC matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Molly McGrath have the television broadcast on ESPN.

The No. 8 Vols (17-4, 4-4 SEC) lost 78-73 to No. 12 Kentucky (15-5, 4-3), shooting a season-high 45 3-pointers and making only 11. Tennessee did not attempt a two-point field goal in the final 4:40 and went 2-for-13 on 3-pointers in the stretch.

Rick Pitino returned to Rupp Arena to face UK in 2001. John Calipari will face Kentucky basketball in Lexington next. How will his experience compare?

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope talks about former UK coach John Calipari ahead of his return to Rupp Arena with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday night.

Notable notes, stats that stand out, and emerging trends as college basketball closes out the month of January.