John Calipari made his much-anticipated return to Rupp Arena with the Arkansas Razorbacks, including DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Big Z, on Saturday night.

The former Kentucky Wildcats coach got the last laugh, taking down his former team by a final score of 89-79.

Both teams got off to a rip-roaring start in a raucous environment. It was 18-12 Cats at first(!) media timeout. The teams exchanged blows in a back-and-forth affair before the momentum shifted to Arkansas, who took a 46-45 into the half.

After the break, Kentucky came out hot, but Arkansas came out hotter. After Kentucky retook the lead, the Razorbacks answered with a 15-3 run to extend their lead to 11. Every time Kentucky cut the lead, Arkansas responded.

The Hogs ended up having their best 3-point shooting game of the season, converting 13/25 from deep. That was where they really won the game, but there were plenty of issues for the Cats.

In the end, Mark Pope’s squad drops another inexcusable loss — one with serious emotional consequences. An absolutely abysmal and unacceptable showing.

Next up, the Cats will travel to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday night.

Kentucky’s defense is a PROBLEM

The capital P was intentional. This Kentucky team is so bad defensively. For how good they are on offense, they’re terrible on the defensive end.

While the Cats have some very good individual defenders, namely Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, and Amari Williams, they just aren’t good as a group. It also doesn’t help to have Butler sitting on the bench with a shoulder injury for the second straight game, but the defense wasn’t good even when he was out there.

For some reason, Mark Pope refuses to play a zone (very Calipari-esque), despite the fact that his team couldn’t guard a brick wall. Something’s got to give or March is going to be a lot shorter than BBN expects.

Amari Williams dominates

Williams is the catalyst of this Kentucky offense. He makes a lot of frustrating mistakes and refuses to utilize his immense size, but his overall impact can’t be overstated.

He’s a 7-footer who handles the ball more than every guard on this team, not named Butler. When taken in context, mistakes are going to happen with how often he’s tasked with running and initiating the offense. I think the majority of frustration stems from a lack of scoring prowess. Williams is an incredible defender and rim protector. He’s the Cats’ best rebounder and he’s a really good passer. However, he just doesn’t take advantage of his size down low, and sometimes, it’s aggravating.

The good news is Williams showcased all facets of his game in this one. He bullied Big Z and filled up the stat sheet. This is exactly what we’ve all been waiting to see.

Robinson has found his stride

Jaxson Robinson was a bit of an enigma to start the season, but he’s hit his stride now.

Kentucky’s only notable NBA prospect coming into the season was inconsistent at best in November and December, but in January and today, he’s come into his own. He’s shooting lights out and playing with the utmost confidence. What’s even more impressive is that he’s done it two games in a row as the team’s lead guard amid Butler’s absence.

Robinson has a tendency to float at times, but he’s never afraid to shoot. He creates his own shot and is a good rebounder and distributor when he wants/needs to be. He’s needed to be in the Cats’ last two games and he’s delivered on all fronts. It just didn’t pan out in a win this time.

Now, let’s vent about what happened.