Adou Thiero and D.J Wagner address getting booed by Kentucky fans before pulling off upset - "Got my emotions out of the way" 

Arkansas forward Adou Thiero was one of the high-profile returnees at the Rupp Arena on Saturday evening alongside former Kentucky coach John Calipari, who unexpectedly left Lexington in April 2024. The Razorbacks, with Thiero's help, pulled off an epic 89-79 upset of the Kentucky Wildcats to give their former coach a triumphant homecoming.

Alongside Thiero, Zvonimir Ivisic and D.J Wagner Jr. also played for the Wildcats before following their former coach to Fayetteville last year and they were welcomed with a chorus of boos from Kentucky fans on Saturday evening.

During the postgame news conference, Thiero and Wagner shared how they dealt with getting booed by the Big Blue Nation (1:00).

"I kinda got my emotions out of the way, the last time that we came here, just taking a look at the place, a lot of memories were made here," Adou Thiero said. "Just coming into the weekend, it's another great game, just play as hard as we can and try and get the win."

"I felt a lot of emotions yesterday just walking back, being on the sideline and shooting with a different team so it kind of felt a bit weird but once that was over it was fun for me just going out there and seeing how crazy it was, it was fun," D.J Wagner said.

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Adou Thiero and Wildcats returnees praised by John Calipari

During his postgame news conference, charismatic Arkansas coach John Calipari showcased the difficulty of returning to the Rupp Arena and revealed that Adou Thiero went through the same difficulties.

"It’s hard to win in here," Calipari said. I’ve got to be honest with you, and Adou (Thiero) said he did the same thing. I looked up a couple times, and I thought we were losing because I kept looking at Kentucky, instead of Arkansas. I told (Adou) I did that and he said, ‘Coach, I did the same thing.’

"They were good. And they played well today. They all three played well. D.J. played, and so did Z, and so did Adou. Adou played ... That’s how we want him to play every game. Hard to play that way every game. But, we put it in his hands in spots where he could drive the ball."

Adou Thiero tallied 21 points and eight rebounds, D.J Wagner registered 17 points, three rebounds and eight assists while Zvonimir Ivisic added 14 points, four rebounds and one assist.

The Kentucky returnees, led by Adou Thiero, helped to seal the upset win against their former team despite the hostile reception and treatment that they received all night.