Despite having a head coach that is only in their first year, the Kentucky Wildcats are winning in the most competitive conference in college basketball. With a 14-3 record through 17 games, the No. 8 Wildcats are 3-1 in the SEC, which is home to five Top-10 teams. They defeated No. 11 Texas A&M on Tuesday night and No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday, their second consecutive victory over Top-15 opponents.
A devastating poster dunk on Texas A&M player Pharrel Payne by guard Otega Oweh sent Rupp Arena into a frenzy during Tuesday night’s 81-69 victory for Kentucky, who extended their home win streak to 15 games.
This season, Kentucky is doing significantly better than Arkansas, who are now led by former Kentucky head coach John Calipari. After 15 years, Calipari and Kentucky split up in April. In Calipari’s final four years in Lexington, Kentucky had only won one NCAA Tournament match and had been severely upset by a 15 and a 14 seed in the first round.
Calipari, who is currently coaching at Fayetteville, has not had the season start he had hoped for. Even though they are 11-6, the Razorbacks have dropped to the basement of the SEC with an 0-4 record after losing all of their games thus far. Arkansas was placed No. 16 in the AP Poll going into the season, but they have since dropped to the bottom.
Calipari’s successor, Mark Pope, finds Kentucky in the same position as they were in previous seasons under Calipari: a Top-10 team vying for the top SEC ranking. Pope, who played basketball for Kentucky from 1994 to 1996, has maintained the team’s position over the years.
The Wildcats will, however, face further challenges in the future. They will play No. 4 Alabama on Saturday and No. 6 Tennessee in Knoxville on January 28. Additionally, they have not yet faced No. 1 Auburn; two crucial games versus the Tigers are scheduled for late February and early March. But it would be difficult to overlook Pope’s debut if he could lead the Wildcats back to the Sweet 16.
