If there was ever a night for Arkansas to suddenly transform into a team of sharpshooters, it had to be against Kentucky. The Razorbacks, who had spent most of the season struggling from beyond the arc, picked the perfect moment to rewrite their narrative—at the expense of John Calipari’s Wildcats.
Entering Saturday night’s showdown, Arkansas was a dismal 32.5% from three-point range, ranking 248th in the nation. In simpler terms, they weren’t exactly feared from deep. But against Kentucky? They caught fire. The Razorbacks torched the Wildcats from long range, splashing 13 of 25 attempts, a scorching 52% clip, on shots Kentucky wanted them to take.
Mark Pope’s Reaction: “They Just Hit Everything”
After watching his defense get shredded, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope could only tip his cap.
“I thought they shot them really well,” Pope admitted postgame. “They posed a bunch of difficult problems for us. They did a good job getting downhill, getting open looks. Their pick-and-pop action complicated our ball-screen coverage, and (Johnell Davis) was super aggressive in the two-man game. They just made shots tonight.”
Former Kentucky Ties Burn the Wildcats
Among Arkansas’ flamethrowers, Johnell Davis stood out, knocking down three three-pointers en route to an 18-point performance, his best of the season. DJ Wagner added two triples, finishing with 17 points, also a season-high.
And then there was Zvonimir “Big Z” Ivišić, the ultimate heartbreaker. Once a promising recruit in Lexington, Ivišić returned to his old stomping grounds and put on a show, burying four three-pointers—including a back-breaking dagger in the second half that silenced Rupp Arena and stretched Arkansas’ lead to nine.
To add insult to injury, Karter Knox, a former Kentucky commit, joined the three-point barrage by hitting a pair of deep balls.
Calipari’s Postgame Message: “We Had to Be Perfect to Win”
Back in familiar territory—this time as the enemy—John Calipari addressed the media with a mix of satisfaction and relief.
“We played well,” Calipari said. “We made a lot of shots, but you know, we’ve lost a lot of games this season because we weren’t hitting anything. So, it’s nice to see we’re capable of playing this way.”
But even Cal knew that Arkansas’ shooting night was an anomaly.
“We were fortunate,” he admitted. “We had to shoot 70% from two, 55% from three, and 52% overall just to win. If we don’t do that, we lose this game.”
“Makers, Not Shooters” – The Irony of It All
Longtime Kentucky fans will remember one of Calipari’s most famous lines during his tenure in Lexington:
“I need makers, not shooters.”
It was his way of saying that shot attempts alone didn’t matter—what mattered was who could step up and actually knock them down under pressure.
On Saturday night, Calipari got exactly what he had always preached about. But this time, those makers weren’t wearing Kentucky blue. They were wearing Arkansas red. And they delivered the best shooting performance of the season, right when the Razorbacks needed it most.
For Kentucky, it was a cruel twist of fate. For Arkansas, it was the ultimate revenge game.
