Sunday Headlines: Kentucky Basketball saves season after beating John Calipari and Arkansas

by February 1, 2026

written by February 1, 2026

Last night was a good night to be a Kentucky Basketball fan.

The Wildcats came out strong vs. the Arkansas Razorbacks, leading 14-5 at the first media timeout and taking a 7-point lead into halftime. Things looked rocky early in the second half when Kentucky was issued 3 technical fouls in less than a minute, but Kentucky bounced back and made key plays down the stretch, picking up the biggest win of the season.

Winning a game against a top-15 team on the road in the SEC is always a major accomplishment and one worth celebrating, but this one was even sweeter considering who the opposing coach is and the result of last year’s matchup.

Kentucky did what it needed to do in order to win this game. They couldn’t afford another slow start, so they outscored the Hogs 26-17 in the first 10 minutes of the game. They weathered the storm early in the second half when it would’ve been easy to fall apart and blame each other, and they needed to make key plays down the stretch in a tough environment.

The Cats desperately needed this win for a lot of reasons, and they got it. It’s hard to say what’s next for this team, but last night was definitely sweet.