College Basketball

John Calipari's Revenge: Hall of Famer gets last laugh in return to Rupp Arena

Published Feb. 2, 2025 1:22 a.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

He was greeted by boos when he walked out of the tunnel at Rupp Arena. John Calipari, who led Kentucky to a memorable era of basketball with a national championship in 2012 and four Final Four trips, returned to his former home of 15 years on Saturday night.

An evening that started with the Hall of Famer getting heckled by the same people who were once cheering him on ended with Calipari strolling courtside at Rupp Arena in a familiar role: as a winner. He owns the most wins of any coach at the building after all, with his 235th coming on Saturday in a season-changing 89-79 victory over 12th-ranked Kentucky.

For Calipari, it was a night for the 65-year-old to have the last laugh with his Razorbacks torching the nets, shooting 55.2% from the floor and 13-of-25 from 3-point range against a very vulnerable Kentucky defense that was missing Lamont Butler.

For Arkansas, it was a season-saving win because the Razorbacks were previously stuck at 1-7 in Quad 1 games and had a NET hovering around 60. Beating Kentucky on the road by double-digits gets the Hogs back in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Adou Thiero tallied 21 points and eight rebounds, but the difference for a Razorbacks team that improved to only 2-6 in SEC play was a transfer who was thought to be a gem but has underwhelmed: former FAU star Johnell Davis, who had 18 points.

For Kentucky, which entered Saturday with a top 10 NET ranking, it's a Quad 2 loss and one that could now see the Cats, previously on the 3-line in Mike DeCourcy's bracket forecast, drop to a 4-seed.

But the story is Calipari, who is a Kentucky legend but fell into its bad graces when he left for Arkansas last April. On Saturday, he made a statement that maybe pronouncing his total demise was premature, and he got to one-up those in Big Blue Nation who have so heavily turned on him.

What a moment for one of the all-timers in college basketball history.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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