Kentucky and Arkansas both have new head basketball coaches, and these coaches are set to face off in Rupp Arena on Saturday evening. Coach Mark Pope and John

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.

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).

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 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.

John Calipari will lead Arkansas into Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky Saturday night in his seventh meeting with the Wildcats overall and his first since leaving under controversy in April.

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

Coach Rick Pitino, who used to coach Kentucky's current coach Mark Pope, put out a video message on his social media Thursday. He said while he's never been the best of friends with Cal, he respects him and so should Kentucky fans.