KSR's top takeaways from Kentucky's magical win over Coach Cal and Arkansas

I genuinely can’t believe it. Stunned. Speechless. Flabbergasted. Where did that come from? There was nothing to suggest Kentucky was ready for this moment, certainly not coming off a 25-point beatdown in Nashville just days before. There were no hints that these Wildcats — the kings of molasses-paced starts — were ready to make 10 of their first 11 shots and build a 13-point first-half cushion in that type of environment. Nothing suggested they were ready to do the punking on the glass with a plus-nine advantage or double up Arkansas on 3-point makes. We’ve seen some gutsy comebacks, but how about being called for three technical fouls in 38 seconds and watching a five-point lead turn into a four-point deficit in a matter of 2:30 because of them, Bud Walton Arena on fire with the momentum totally flipped — then leading by double figures with 2:03 to go?

This game had disaster written all over it, and for so many reasons. The crap injury luck and ensuing continuity and identity issues, the Razorbacks’ talent and on-paper positional advantages, the building, that coach, all of the above. It’s why I picked a double-digit loss and didn’t feel totally off-base with it, even though the possibility hurt me to the depths of my soul.

Kentucky’s response? Shut up with the bellyaching, we got this. It would be their most complete game of the season, shooting 54 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three with four double-digit scorers. Hot start, clutch finish to pull off the wildly unexpected.

How’d Mark Pope and the Wildcats do it? KSR has the takeaways from Fayetteville.

Another successful tweak for Kentucky

Coach Cal made it famous, but Pope brought it back, ironically, before taking on the second-year Arkansas coach. It’s something they’ve been trying to figure out all season, and they finally gained some traction this week, apparently. This team’s tweak? Single-segment scrimmages to simulate the beginning of games.

Those led to a nine-point lead at the first TV timeout, one that was pushed to 13 at the second.

“We had a huge emphasis on the first four minutes, six minutes of a scrimmage each day,” Pope said. “The guys who really worked — it’s hard in practice to simulate the intensity of a game, but these guys really tried to do that. It really came from our team and our staff in figuring out a better way to approach this. It doesn’t guarantee that we’re not going to have slow starts, but it certainly was a credit to our guys for being ready to go from the tip tonight. I thought they were terrific.”

Arkansas chipped away and ultimately took a four-point lead, but Kentucky only trailed for a total of 3:53 and managed to turn that deficit into another double-digit lead. That’s because of the cushion the Wildcats earned early to withstand some of the inevitable pushback, not setting themselves up for failure with another massive hole. When you start 11-13 from the field, good things tend to happen.

Keeping composure with three technical fouls in 38 seconds

Brandon Garrison earned his technical at the 14:49 mark of the second half, followed by Mo Dioubate’s at 14:27, then Mark Pope’s at 14:11. The first, I’ll hear you out on, but the second and third? Absolute garbage and inexcusable, power-hungry calls that completely flipped the game upside down — and could have easily turned a gutsy performance for the Cats into a heartbreaking loss. It would’ve been somewhat understood, especially for someone sitting on press row and being there to feel the energy shift with Bud Walton Arena caving in on Billy Richmond’s dunk down the lane to retake the lead for the Razorbacks with 14:07 to go. The score was manageable, even down four with 12:19 on the clock, but goodness, it’d take some serious composure not to let go of the rope there.

Just as it was when they refused to let emotions take over when Otega Oweh and Billy Richmond got into it before halftime. That chippiness could’ve brought out the worst of both sides.

It’s getting chippy here at BWA… pic.twitter.com/CPTcYDT76L

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) February 1, 2026

Instead, they stayed level-headed through the nonsense and turned it into one of the biggest wins of Pope’s coaching career. Kentucky was the better, more mature team in that building on Saturday.

This game clearly meant something to Otega Oweh

We’ve been talking about this Oweh run for weeks now, playing like a man possessed with seven 20-point efforts in SEC play compared to two under with a big-picture streak of 55 double-figure performances out of 58 total games at Kentucky. This one was different, though, the Preseason SEC Player of the Year playing with an obvious edge from the opening tip and looking to make a statement. He was finishing tough and bouncing off the hardwood on falls, right back up to his feet and ready to make the next play. And how about his shot-making? He hit a couple of long ones, plus his tenacious defense on the other end of the floor — particularly on Arkansas superstar guard Darius Acuff, an individual battle the Wildcat senior won.

Stat check: 24 PTS (9-12 FG), 8 REB, 3 AST for Oweh compared to 22 PTS (8-20 FG), 3 AST, 2 REB, 2 TO for Acuff, the latter needing a dominant second-half effort to make up for his disappointing first (5 PTS, 2-10 FG).

“I just try to go out there and have a super-high motor,” Oweh said after the win. “I feel like if I do that, I could help put the team in a good position to win.”

When asked about the importance of this victory, knowing the circumstances and the long-term individual and team performances, this one is up there among his favorite ever.

“I’d say this is definitely up there. I’d say top two — for me, it’s top two,” Oweh said. “… We got a lot of nail-biters. I can’t categorize them, but this one was definitely up there.”

Let’s just get these free throws (6-11) figured out, eh? It was a near-perfect effort everywhere else.

Collin Chandler emerges as the go-to clutch option

In case you needed further proof that the Wildcats have found their guy to lean on down the stretch, add the Arkansas finish to the list.

He grew up right before our eyes in the NCAA Tournament last spring, drilling moon balls from the logo in win-or-go-home matchups. This season, we’ve seen him connect on a full-court heave to Malachi Moreno for a game-winning buzzer-beater at LSU. He followed that up by jumping the passing lane against Tennessee and sending it up to Oweh for the transition bucket to seal that one. Then he iced it with a 25-footer in the win over Ole Miss.

This time around, he cut off Arkansas’ massive 11-2 second-half comeback push to trim the four-point deficit down to one and stop the bleeding with momentum. Later, he checked into the game with 1:21 on the clock and turned an inbounds pass into a turnaround fadeaway to put the good guys up eight at 82-74 with 1:14 to go. Ballgame.

BIG TIME SHOT, COLLIN CHANDLER 🤩

📺 – ESPN pic.twitter.com/X5AHiLm5yQ

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 1, 2026

This team had (and may still have plenty of issues), but in terms of finding an identity, it feels good to have someone with the clutch gene in your back pocket who constantly comes up in the biggest ways at the perfect times.

How about those Kentucky boys?

This wasn’t Jasper Johnson’s night, unfortunately, finishing with just two points in three minutes as foul trouble got the best of him with two in just four seconds early in the first half. That’s when Trent Noah stepped in and gave some of his best minutes wearing that uniform.

Early on, it was all about heart, leading the team in rebounds (5) while also doing what he does best with a made 3-pointer for his third straight game. Then after intermission, he decided to keep the effort on the glass with two more before finding himself at the line for eight total free throws, making six.

With Kam Williams out indefinitely after undergoing foot surgery after Texas, the Cats have been looking for anybody to step up on the wing and provide consistent minutes. Down in Fayetteville, this team does not win without him, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes.

Malachi Moreno belongs in the same conversation, too, even if you typically know what to expect when he’s out there as the team’s starting center. It’s kinda what he does at this point, this time going for 11 points (4-7 FG), seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist. He had some timely finishes on jump hooks and rolling slams, along with swats around the rim to thoroughly outplay the Razorbacks’ entire frontcourt, Malique Ewin and Nick Pringle combining for 11 total points and five rebounds.

How about his work at the line, too? He finished 3-4 on the day with all four attempts coming in the second half to help close things out. Heck of a job by the Georgetown native.

“He’s gotten better,” Calipari told KSR. “He really impacts the game and he’s going to be a good player.”

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Soak this one up, Big Blue Nation. It’s deserved. It may not be our Super Bowl the way it was for the Razorbacks, but it was pretty darn important for tournament seeding and momentum entering the postseason, especially considering what a blowout loss could’ve done the other way.

Now tied for third in the SEC, the Wildcats are trending back toward a double-bye in Nashville for a Friday start — and they’ve got an outside shot to win the league if they play their cards right. All those massive dreams for the program are back in play after heading down to John Calipari’s town and beating his team.