John Calipari seemingly agrees Kentucky game is like his Super Bowl after Arkansas hands major upset to Wildcats 

Arkansas coach John Calipari made his long-awaited return to the Rupp Arena, a few months after shockingly resigning to join the Razorbacks. Calipari did not leave empty-handed, claiming an 89-79 win over the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

During his postgame news conference, Calipari did not hide his fondness for his former team, highlighting the game's importance to him on the calendar and agreeing that it was like his team's Super Bowl, a tag he used frequently when he was the Wildcats coach.

"Yeah, maybe (like a Super Bowl). It's not like we pointed to this game, we didn't," Calipari said. "We just needed to win, folks, whether it was Kentucky or whoever, we just needed to win so I can keep coaching. It's the hardest thing is you're coaching them, you're teaching, you're bringing them together.

"We played with more confidence because we played fearless. And I was coaching them that way. And so proud of them. Good win on the road. Hard game to win in this building. I've been here. So it's a hard game to win."

John Calipari expected hostile reception and received one

When his name was announced at the Rupp Arena, John Calipari received a chorus of boos from the Big Blue Nation despite their long shared history. Calipari won one national championship with the Kentucky Wildcats in 2012 while leading the team to four Final Four appearances during his 15-year tenure where he accumulated a 410-123 record before shockingly resigning last April to take the Arkansas Razorbacks job.

During his pregame news conference, Calipari, who produced 35 first-round picks in his Kentucky tenure, revealed what he expected from the Wildcats fans and admitted his fondness for the Big Blue Nation.

"Walking in there will be emotions. I look forward to walking as the opposing coach," John Calipari said. "In my time, I don't remember them ever cheering an opposing coach, so I'm fine. (The fans) are engaged and my guess is that they'll be engaged on Saturday night."

"You're not going to erase from my mind what we've done (in Kentucky). You can't erase history. That's what it was," Calipari said. "The fans are terrific. They were terrific during our run."

John Calipari, who poached Adou Thiero, Zvonimir Ivisic and D.J. Wagner from his team last year had the last laugh when he claimed the upset victory to leave behind a stunned Rupp Arena due to the Razorbacks' patchy record this season (13-8 overall, 2-6 in SEC play).