Arkansas men's basketball coach John Calipari is preparing for his return to his former team Kentucky. He has said that the reunion would be an emotional one.
In a pre-game conference which was posted by sports editor Tristan Pharis on X, Calipari praised Kentucky coach Mark Pope for doing a good job with his former team. He also talked about returning to Rupp Arena next Saturday.
"I'm still on this game but there'll be some emotion walking into that building, and really being in town. Probably get together with some of my friends. They’re playing good. We’ve got our hands full. Let’s see what happens. They’re a good team. Mark’s doing a good job with them,” he said in the post which was shared on Sunday, Jan. 26.
“So, we just gotta keep going, keep fighting, keep figuring this out. What does this team look like? What do we have to play like?”
The Razorbacks have endured a difficult season under Calipari, losing their first five SEC games before beating Georgia 68-65 on Thursday, Jan 23. They failed to start a winning streak as they were beaten 65-62 by Oklahoma on Saturday.
Arkansas, who ranks 13th in the league in scoring, does not have a mid-week game, which only amplifies Calipari's highly-anticipated return to Kentucky.
John Calipari talks about Arkansas' missed opportunities in loss vs Oklahoma
Arkansas failed to have back-to-back wins after the Razorbacks fell to the visiting Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday. The Razorbacks were without their freshman leader Boogie Fland, who recently underwent surgery on his thumb and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Following the game, Arkansas coach John Calipari pointed out his team's missed opportunities to take the win in a post-game conference.
"But there's a hard fought game," Calipari told the media. " (We) had our chances again." (0:38)
"We made nine threes. If you told me we are making nine threes and losing, I'm like, you're nuts. But we missed a lot of layups too. And again, free throws. We were going there and getting in (the lane), and we are trying to get fouled like everybody else," he added. (1:38)
Arkansas continued to struggle shooting from the field in SEC play and gave away six straight opportunities from the foul line to Oklahoma. The Razorbacks also committed back-to-back fouls on Sooner 3-point attempts, which led to the 20-16 advantage on foul shot attempts for the visitors.
Saturday's loss leaves Arkansas still struggling in the SEC as Calipari prepares to return to his former team Kentucky next Saturday, Feb 1.
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