The Arkansas Razorbacks and Kentucky Wildcats will meet in Southeastern Conference men’s basketball action at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky during the 2024-2025 season. The game between the rivals will be even more super-charged than usual, as it represents the return of Coach John Calipari to Kentucky, where he coached the Wildcats for the past 15 years.
Calilpari left the marquee job at Kentucky in April to accept the opening at Arkansas, replacing Eric Musselman, who had departed for USC after a disappointing season in Fayetteville. There will not be a return trip for Kentucky to the University of Arkansas, as the Wildcats and Razorbacks will meet only once in the regular season.
Over the past month at Arkansas, Calipari has been busy, remaking the Razorbacks roster with the addition of three members of his former recruiting class at Kentucky, a group that had been ranked #2 in the country. Two transfers originally headed for UK have announced a change of plans to Arkansas as well. Kentucky, after Calipari’s departure, announced the hiring of BYU head coach Mark Pope, a member of the Wildcats 1996 national championship team.
In 2024-2025, the scheduling matrix for the SEC become more challenging, with the imminent additions of Texas and Oklahoma. For each of the 16 schools in the conference, six games will be made up of three home-and-home series, with the remaining 12 games made up of one meeting with the remaining available schools.
