The Coach of the Year race is wide open as February looms with a plethora of candidates making great cases for consideration. While Bruce Pearl of No. 1 Auburn and Jon Scheyer of No. 2 Duke are obvious names,

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?

Good morning, folks! We’re in for a busy day in the world of Kentucky basketball. First, we’ll hear from men’s head coach Mark Pope this afternoon as he prepares for Saturday’s highly-anticipated showdown against John Calipari‘s Arkansas Razorbacks.

Unlike Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr was unable to take the floor against the Commodores on Saturday afternoon. A back injury prevented the fifth year senior from practicing for multiple weeks, and on Saturday, Pope made the decision to keep him out for the game.

Contrast that success with Calipari’s first Arkansas team, which needed six tries to notch its first SEC win of the year, and Kentucky fans figure to have plenty of ammunition Saturday. The Razorbacks are just 12-8 overall, and their 1-6 start to SEC play has them looking like a long shot for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about leaving Kentucky -- and returning. And now with John Calipari set to return to Rupp Arena with Arkansas on Saturday night (9 p.m., ESPN), the St. John’s coach has some advice on how Big Blue Nation should treat their former coach.

While still building UK basketball's 2025 recruiting class, Mark Pope and his staff have kept tabs on 2026. These 10 players have offers from Kentucky

Five things you need to know from No. 12 Kentucky’s gut-check 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee in SEC men’s basketball: 1. Mark Pope, slayer of rivals. There is a school of thought that one of a college head coach’s primary jobs is beating the teams his/her fan base dislike the most.

The last time Rick Pitino took to Twitter to address Kentucky fans was after Mark Pope was hired when John Calipari left for Arkansas, a message that went a long way in getting fans on board with the surprising hire.

Checking in from Cal to Welch Mark Pope won his first 11 home games as Kentucky basketball coach ... last month's win over in-state rival Louisville). "For him to be in this game — like this ...

Arkansas basketball is irrelevant in its first season under John Calipari. Cal's return to Rupp Arena is now just another game for Kentucky basketball