“It was definitely personal.”Otega Oweh said@KentuckyMBBwas motivated to get the W over Arkansas 👀pic.twitter.com/Lt7UbvSk5P
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork)February 1, 2026
Cool, calm, and collected 😼pic.twitter.com/TFCCwAlFtn
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB)February 1, 2026
Goddamn did that feel good. Well, to a degree. I still had to deal with Doug Shows trying to make the game his. Not only that, but he single-handedly let Arkansas back into the game with this shitshow
Kentucky picks up their 3rd technical of the game.pic.twitter.com/LUpYehJpPp
— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies)February 1, 2026
That technical foul on Mo Dioubate is the worst technical foul that I’ve EVER seen.EVER.Doug Shows should never be allowed to officiate another game after that. Horrendous.
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster)February 1, 2026
LOL I better not see Doug Shows working the Final Four this year.https://t.co/JqVJWtV0dj
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander)February 1, 2026
But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Mark Pope coached laps around John Calipari and Kentucky was the better team for 39 minutes. It was Kentucky from the jump. It was Kentucky running an offense, switching defenses and Pope knowing who he needed out there to win. That guy? That guy was Trent Noah, who shushed the crowd
Trent Noah pic of the daypic.twitter.com/h9H0pahf4z
— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies)February 1, 2026
Just a guy from the mountains of Kentucky stepping in to hit a couple threes and be a massive rebounder and defender. But you know what? Yeah, it feels fucking good to beat Calipari. It feels so good to remember why the divorce happened and why we wanted him gone. Because that’s a game that John Calipari loses. His team was tight, his team couldn’t shoot and even settled for a long 2 in a key possession. All shit we were sick of seeing.
So for one night at least, Mark Pope gets to brag. He gets to talk his shit, in any weird way he wants to. Make the game ugly? Sure. Go win it twice? Not a problem. That’s what happened tonight. It was the perfect reminder that we are still Kentucky. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, we come to town and your team is going to do a white out, sell out the place and set records for attendance. Because all that matters to you is seeing Kentucky. That’s what John Calipari learned tonight. That’s what all of Arkansas had to be reminded of tonight…