When is Arkansas playing against Kentucky? All we know about marquee matchup’s date, venue and more

The Arkansas Razorbacks will take on the Kentucky Wildcats on February 1, 2025, as part of conference play in the 2024-25 season. Kentucky will play the host with John Calipari returning to the Rupp Arena for the first time since his departure in April.

Over the last two seasons, both teams hosted each other twice per year. However, the February game will be the only time the Wildcats and Razorbacks play each other. They have both tipped off on 48 occasions since 1949, with Kentucky leading 34-14.

The last time they played was in March when the Wildcats, led by DJ Wagner and Antonio Reeves, took the win 111-102. However, next year, Wagner will lead the Razorbacks as he followed coach Calipari to Fayetteville. Joining him are former Wildcats Zvonimir Ivisic, Kareem Watkins and Adou Thiero.

This game has been in the making for some time now and Kentucky coach Mark Pope spoke about it on Jon Rothstein's "College Hoops Today" podcast in May.

"It’s going to be great for Arkansas fans and certainly great for Big Blue Nation,” Pope said. “It’s going to be a battle. It is going to have some things become super personal.

"It’s one thing competing against somebody that you don’t know. It’s another thing competing against your brother. If you’ve done that in the backyard, it usually gets ugly because you love each other so much. I anticipate there’ll be some of that flavor in this with Coach Cal, for sure."

John Calipari led the Wildcats for 15 years and his return to Rupp is one of the most anticipated moments in the 2024-25 season.

Arkansas and Kentucky roster for the 2024-25 season

Joining the former Wildcats at Arkansas are Johnell Davis, Melo Sanchez and Jonas Aidoo from the transfer portal. Coach Calipari redirected his Kentucky commitments, Boogie Fland, Billy Richmond III and Karter Knox to Arkansas.

The coach also retained Trevon Brazile and Lawson Blake from former coach Eric Musselman's roster. Casmir Chavis, Jaden Karuletwa and Ayden Kelley are the other freshman recruits who will round off Calipari's 15-man squad.

Meanwhile, Mark Pope has completely built Kentucky's roster from the ground up. He added Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh, Jaxson Robinson, Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison from the transfer portal. Collin Chandler, Travis Perry and Trent Noah make up the freshman class.

What are your predictions for the Kentucky vs Arkansas match-up? Let us know in the comment section below.