Kentucky
Arkansas vs. Kentucky: How are both sides of John Calipari’s shocking move faring in Year 1?
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Last April, on the eve of the men’s national championship game, John Calipari sent shockwaves through college basketball. With the sport focused on the looming heavyweight matchup of reigning champ UConn and Zach Edey-led Purdue, Calipari’s departure from Kentucky, where he had made four Final Fours and won a national title in 15 years as coach, to take over at Arkansas left fans and media members alike flabbergasted.
The ensuing Kentucky coaching search had its twists and turns, but it ultimately landed on beloved alum Mark Pope, previously the coach at BYU. Replacing the larger-than-life Calipari was an unenviable task, and the fact Calipari had landed with an SEC rival ensured the performance of the two coaches would be inextricably linked.
It also ensured Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena would be one of the most anticipated games of the 2024-25 season. Saturday is the Razorbacks and Wildcats’ only scheduled meeting this year, and if the returns of Chris Beard to Texas Tech and Ed Cooley to Providence taught us anything, it’s that college hoops fans will stage quite a spectacle to express their animosity toward a coach who abandons them for a league foe.
Of course, Kentucky fans are likely quite pleased with the tradeoff at this point. Pope’s energy and fan engagement — he brought back former UK coach Rick Pitino for the team’s preseason showcase in October, among other PR victories — has reinvigorated Big Blue Nation, and Kentucky’s 15-5 start with wins over Duke, Florida, Louisville and most recently Tennessee has only fueled the fervor.
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.
So how did each squad get to Saturday night? Can the underdog Hogs play spoiler for their coach, or will the stars of Pope’s instant rebuild give Kentucky fans even more bragging rights over their departed boss?
Kentucky: Offense humming, starters hurting
Pope and Calipari had to rebuild their rosters from scratch this offseason, turning to the transfer portal to load up on instant-impact talent. But Pope’s haul has fit better together on the floor.
At BYU, Pope directed elite offensive units, emphasizing skill, spacing and unselfishness to put pressure on the opposing defense. His final squad in Provo ranked 14th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rankings, fueled by high-volume shooting (No. 4 in Division I in 3-point attempt rate) and pinpoint passing (No. 6 in assist rate).
His first Kentucky team is built similarly, with Cougars leading scorer Jaxson Robinson transferring in as a key building block. Robinson and Dayton transfer Koby Brea have given this Kentucky team two lethal perimeter weapons that command the defense’s full attention wherever they are on the court.
Every coach wants shooting — that does not make Pope unique. Neither does his five-out offense that strives to keep the paint open for drives and cuts by allowing all five players to operate from beyond the 3-point line. But structurally, his offenses have a more unconventional look. Kentucky constantly uses its centers as initiators at the top of the key, and Amari Williams (10th in the SEC in assist rate) and Brandon Garrison (25th) were perfect fits from the portal.
Williams’ skills allow Pope to use him in a variety of ways. He is most often a triggerman in dribble handoffs, but he flashed some vision as a pick-and-roll ballhandler against Tennessee on Tuesday:
As jumbo ball screen operators go, Williams is not quite on the level of Michigan 7-footer Danny Wolf, but he does add a different element to the attack. Defending the Wildcats is a special challenge because of their bigs’ pristine passing.
For Kentucky fans who enjoyed last year’s explosive offense, it’s been a welcome sight to have their new coach continue the fireworks show. The Wildcats have racked up at least 90 points in 10 of their 20 games.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for the Wildcats, though. The defense has been leaky, to put it generously, particularly inside the arc. In SEC play, Kentucky ranks last in points per possession allowed (1.17, a gruesome number) and 2-point field goal defense (opponents are shooting 57.6 percent).
Lingering injuries have clipped Kentucky’s wings somewhat, as well. Point guard Kerr Kriisa has been out since Dec. 7 with a Jones fracture in his foot, though his erratic play vacillated between a blessing and a curse in the first month of the season. More recently, lineup mainstays Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr have missed time; the Wildcats’ win at Tennessee on Tuesday was made all the more impressive by Butler’s absence and Carr’s limited minutes.
Per CBB Analytics, Carr and Butler rank second and third on the team in Net Rating. Kentucky is not its best self when they are not on the court. Their statuses are up in the air for Saturday’s showdown.
Arkansas: A humbling start to SEC play
Calipari had to fill out a blank roster upon taking over in Fayetteville, but he managed to bring some familiar faces from Lexington along to set his foundation. DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic followed him from Kentucky, and three former UK commits — Boogie Fland, Kevin Knox and Billy Richmond — flipped their pledges to Arkansas, as well.
That core helped the Hogs get off to a solid 11-2 start, including a needle-moving win over Michigan at Madison Square Garden in December. Like every other SEC team, Arkansas entered league play with clear expectations of making the NCAA Tournament.
The SEC gantlet has gotten the best of the Hogs, though, as a 1-6 start to the conference slate has dropped Arkansas from any tournament projections. The offense has been a disaster, ranking last in both 2-point percentage and 3-point percentage against SEC competition.
Considering how potent Calipari’s final Kentucky offense was, this unit is a clear disappointment. Notably, the architect of that free-flowing system, assistant John Welch, took the associate head coach job at Fresno State this offseason. Calipari replaced him on the staff with old friend Kenny Payne, the former Wildcats assistant who most recently oversaw Louisville’s catastrophically poor run from 2022 to 2024 as head coach.
The Razorbacks’ hopes of a stretch-run rally took a hit when reports emerged in January that Fland would be sidelined for the remainder of the season (the program has announced only that he is out “indefinitely”). The incendiary freshman guard had immediately seized an alpha role as a scorer and creator, averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. Per CBB Analytics, Arkansas was 24.5 points better per 100 possessions with Fland in the lineup.
Without him, the Razorbacks must recalibrate. Wagner’s responsibilities grow as a ballhandler, and FAU transfer Nelly Davis must backfill Fland’s scoring. Davis, who made the Final Four as the Owls’ leading scorer two years ago, responded with a season-high 18 points, albeit with shaky inefficiency, in last Saturday’s 65-62 loss to Oklahoma.
The Razorbacks’ ensuing week off might have given Calipari crucial time to tweak the Razorbacks’ approach without Fland. Still, Arkansas faces an uphill climb to reach its postseason aspirations. KenPom has the Razorbacks favored in just one of their next six games.
Emotions will be running high at Rupp Arena on Saturday night. Big Blue Nation will have all day to work itself into a fever pitch before the 9 p.m. ET tip. Calipari told reporters he expects to be booed, and similar treatment likely awaits the trio of Wildcat defectors (Thiero, Wagner and Ivisic).
But in the end, the game will be decided by the players on the court. Kentucky’s vulnerabilities in the paint could be the matchup advantage Arkansas needs to spark its offense. Thiero’s athleticism at the four spot could be a problem, especially if Carr remains limited by his back injury. Davis, though, faces a stiff challenge in the Wildcats’ top defender, Otega Oweh, a sublime athlete who will be tasked with making him uncomfortable all night. The Hogs must also bring their full focus defensively, or Williams and Garrison will slice them up with precise passing.
Kentucky is hoping to continue its climb up the seed list; the Wildcats earned a No. 3 seed in The Athletic’s most recent bracket projection. Arkansas, on the other hand, is grasping for a lifeline on its 2024-25 season. Going into Lexington and stealing a win would certainly give the Razorbacks a push in the right direction.
(Photos of Johnell Davis and Jaxson Robinson: Megan Briggs, Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
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Kentucky
Kentucky aims to finish strong in Kenny Brooks’ first season in Lexington
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It’s fair to say Kenny Brooks made a major splash in his first season as the Kentucky Wildcats women’s head basketball coach.
From the beginning, it was clear that Brooks had a plan to get talented players to join him in Lexington.
Centered around superstar Georgia Amoore, Kentucky’s roster is littered with talent at each position in Year 1 of the Brooks era.
Sure, it’s Georgia Amoore who leads the team in scoring at nearly 20 ppg, but sophomore Clara Strack is a powerful force in the middle, averaging just under a double-double with 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Sitting at 20-4 on the season, Brooks has already proven that he’s the right man for the job, but in college basketball, nothing is more important than the results you put up in March.
The Cats have four games remaining this season and can count on being underdogs in three of those.
- 2/20 @ Missouri
- 2/23 #7 LSU
- 2/27 #15 Tennessee
- 3/2 @ #6 South Carolina
We’ve heard all season long about how good the SEC is in men’s basketball, but the remaining schedule illustrates that the league is extremely difficult for them as well.
Currently, Kentucky is 9-3 in conference play, landing them in fourth place, trailing the Texas Longhorns by 2.5 games.
There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and UK could see their SEC tournament seed rise or fall depending on league results these last two weeks.
Regardless of where they’re seeded, I don’t believe any team in America wants to see Kentucky in their path to a Final Four.
Georgia Amoore appears poised to make a statement in what will be her final season as a collegiate athlete.
With her ability to score 30+ on any night, you can never count these Cats out.
Kentucky
KFC headquarters is leaving Louisville. What we know about the move so far
AI at Taco Bell: Speeding up orders, accuracy
Yum Brands announced that hundreds of Taco Bell locations in the U.S. will begin using artificial intelligence at its drive thru locations.
Cheddar
Yum! Brands is taking the chicken out of Kentucky; its fried chicken brand headquarters, anyway.Kentucky Fried Chicken, part of Yum! Brands, will soon be leaving its home state.
The Fortune 500 company that has been based in Louisville since 1997 on Tuesday announced plans to create two new brand headquarters in the U.S. in Plano, Texas, and Irvine, California. Officials said KFC will primarily be headquartered at the new Plano location.
The move is expected to affect 100 KFC U.S. corporate employees, many of whom were based in Louisville before the announcement. Additionally, 90 remote workers will be expected to relocate over the next 18 months.
Where is KFC headquarters?
The current headquarters for KFC is 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville.
While the headquarters is leaving, individual restaurants are staying.
In a news release, Yum! Brands said KFC will continue to have a strong brand presence in Louisville “with the ambition of building a first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant.”
KFC will be headquartered in Plano, Texas, alongside sister brand Pizza Hut Global.
Yum! Brands said the move is intended “to foster greater collaboration among brands and employees.”
“These changes position us for sustainable growth and will help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders,” CEO David Gibbs said in the release. “Ultimately, bringing more of our people together on a consistent basis will maximize our unrivaled culture and talent as a competitive advantage. I’m confident this is another important step in growing our iconic restaurant brands globally.”
Is Yum! Brands headquarters leaving Kentucky?
Yum! Brands which also owns Taco Bell and Habit Bar & Grill brands, will retain its corporate headquarters and 560 employees in Louisville.
Yum! Brands plans to donate a $1 million endowment to the College of Business at the University of Louisville. The KFC Foundation also will keep its corporate offices in Louisville.
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
Kentucky
Kentucky desperately needs PF Andrew Carr back playing like himself
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It is clear that Andrew Carr is not playing at 100% right now, as he is still dealing with a back injury. Injuries like this can be challenging to deal with as players can play through them, but it affects foot speed and athleticism, which has been seen with the play of Carr.
The 6’11 power forward is the most clutch player this Kentucky team has, which he proved in the team’s big wins over Duke and Gonzaga, which is why Mark Pope needs his veteran forward playing as close as possible to 100% when March comes around.
Kentucky will, of course, need Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler healthy when the NCAA Tournament comes around, but Carr has the making of a March Madness hero in Lexington.
Hopefully, he can use this next month to get healthy, and if he isn’t getting all that much better, he can use it to learn how to play through this injury. Recently, Carr told the press he hasn’t dealt with a back injury before, so he is learning how to manage it.
Big Blue Nation just needs to hope that Carr is able to get closer to 100%, as the SEC Tournament is less than a month away. If Kentucky is going to make a run in March, they will need a healthy Carr to drive to a Final Four.
It would also be great to see Carr have a solid showing against Vanderbilt, knowing the team will likely be playing without Robinson and Butler on Wednesday.
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