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

“As you all know, I’m not best friends with John Calipari,” Pitino said. “I respect him, certainly, but it was a mutual thing. The fans wanted a change. John read the tea leaves. He needed a change, and he really didn’t want to leave.

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,

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.

Coach Rick Pitino gave his take on the rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville under Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey. The St. John's men's basketball coach shared his opinion in a post on X on Wednesday.

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.

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?

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.