Fans and media had arguments for a week leading up to Arkansas game at No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday about whether or not Big Blue Nation would boo former head coach John Calipari when he brought the Razorbacks to Rupp Arena.
In the end, Wildcat fans were reigning boos down on the court, but they were directed at their own team after an 89-79 loss to the Hogs and Kentucky's former head coach of 15 years.
"We needed to win a game so it didn’t matter who it was against," Calipari said postgame, when asked about his emotions. "I made it clear: It was a privilege and an honor to coach here. We had 15 unbelievable years. A great run. Support. The fans supported us. The family’s that entrusted us with their sons. I got a bunch of calls. I got 90 texts by the game the game ended. And I’m guessing a bunch of them are former players. Not that they’re ever going to root against Kentucky. They went to school here. But they also have a relationship with me."
VIDEO: Calipari, Thiero, Wagner postgame - Arkansas 89, Kentucky 79
It was clear early on that Calipari would not be met with much positivity, as former Wildcats D.J. Wagner, Adou Theiro and Zvonimir Ivisic — all of whom followed Calipari to Fayetteville — had to listen to a chorus of boos from Kentucky students when they first took the floor for pregame warmups.
"I called them in together and I said ‘Are you guys OK going back here? Are you going to be OK?" Calipari said postgame. "And they all said, ‘We’re fine coach. We’re worried about you.’ That’s the kind of team I have and the kind of players they are. They were worried about me and I said ‘I’m fine.’ So no, they were good today and they played well today. They all three played well. D.J. played and so did Z and so did Adou."
As more fans wearing blue packed into Rupp Arena, the pregame jeers only got louder and the energy inside the building continued to mount. By the first media timeout at the 14:23 mark in the first half, the roof was ready to come off the building as Wildcat fans roared after Calipari called for a timeout with his team down 18-12.
RELATED: Social media reacts to Arkansas' 89-79 win over Kentucky
That ended up being the largest lead of the game for Kentucky, as the Hogs continued to knock down shots that they haven't all season to eventually carry a 46-45 lead into the halftime locker room. Each of the Hogs' last five made shots in the first half were 3-pointers, which ended up being a surprising weapon for Calipari's squad.
With a second half performance that featured Arkansas out-scoring Kentucky by nine points in the final 20 minutes, the Razorbacks finished the game making 13 of 25 threes and they shot 55.2% from the field.
Ivisic struggled defensively in the paint, but he was particularly effective shooting the three ball, as he knocked down four triples and tallied 14 points and four rebounds in his return. Wagner also hit a pair of 3-pointers and totaled 17 points, plus Thiero scored a team-high 21 points with 10 made free throws and eight rebounds.
"You gotta understand now, I was all over them like we’re not going to take 40 threes," Calipari said. "We took 25. That ain’t too bad, 25 threes. Tennessee took 45 (against Kentucky on Tuesday). We tried to drive the ball every chance. I got on Adou a couple of times for shooting threes, why are you doing that? You are as good a player in the country when you drive the ball. Drive the ball.
"(I got) on Karter (Knox) about that, but I want Nelly (Davis) pull up and shoot. I want DJ to shoot some of those balls. I want Z to shoot those balls. We have to play how we have to play to win and part of that was grinding it out. We still scored 89, 90 points and we were working it. We were grinding out, you can still score 90 playing that way. It’s a crazy thing, there’s not one way to do this and every team has its own team that you play."
The win Saturday was a big resume-builder over a Quadrant 1 team, as far as NET rankings are concerned. With a 2-6 record in SEC play, the Hogs still have a lot of work to do.
Up next, Arkansas will travel to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff against the Texas Longhorns on ESPN2.
