How Kentucky matches up vs. No. 15 Arkansas — with a game prediction
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Arkansas leverages shooting and depth to claim positional advantages over Kentucky.
- Kentucky leans on Otega Oweh scoring while roster is thinned by injuries.
- Home-court strength and recent form lead analyst to predict Arkansas 73, Kentucky 68.
How the Kentucky Wildcats (14-7,5-3 SEC) and the No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks (16-5, 6-2 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s SEC men’s basketball contest — with a game prediction:
Small forward
• Kentucky’s Collin Chandler (8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists) had a rough go in UK’s 80-55 loss at Vanderbilt Tuesday night. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, missed five of his six field-goal attempts, all three of his 3-pointers, and finished with four points, four rebounds and two turnovers. In UK’s 89-79 loss to Arkansas last season at Rupp Arena, Chandler played 17 minutes and scored two points on 1-of-3 field-goal shooting.
• Arkansas sophomore Karter Knox (8.7 points, 5 rebounds, 40.3% 3-pointers) originally committed to Kentucky but cast his lot with the Razorbacks after John Calipari moved west. A 6-6, 220-pound sophomore, Knox is the younger brother of ex-UK standout Kevin Knox. Over the past five Arkansas games, Karter Knox has made only 6 of 20 3-point attempts. In last season’s Razorbacks win in Lexington, Knox hit 4 of 7 shots, 2 of 3 treys and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Advantage: Arkansas
Power forward
• Kentucky sophomore Andrija Jelavic (5.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) moved into the UK starting lineup five games ago. As a starter, the 6-11, 225-pound Croatian has averaged 5.6 points and 4.2 rebounds while making 52.4% of his field-goal attempts.
• Arkansas redshirt senior Trevon Brazile (12.3 ppg, team-high 6.9 rebounds, 54.4% FGs) has played against Kentucky three times before (twice for the Razorbacks, once for Missouri) and has averaged 5.7 points and 3 rebounds while making 66.7% of his shot attempts. In the Hogs’ win at Rupp Arena last season, the 6-10, 230-pound product of Springfield, Missouri, hit 2 of 3 shots, 1 of 2 treys and had five points and two boards.
Advantage: Arkansas
Center
• Since Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno (8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 59.3% FGs) hit the game-winning jump shot in UK’s 75-74 win at LSU, he has struggled to get the ball in the basket. In the four contests since LSU, the 7-foot, 250-pound product of Great Crossing High School in Georgetown has made a combined 4 of 15 shots. Even as he has struggled to score, Moreno has continued to contribute; he is averaging 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.3 blocked shots over the past four games.
• Arkansas super-senior Nick Pringle (5.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 66.7% FGs) is playing for his fourth college team after stints with Wofford, Alabama and South Carolina. A 6-10, 230-pound product of Seabrook, South Carolina, Pringle has made 10 of 11 shots combined in the Razorbacks’ past three games. Pringle has played against UK three times before (twice for Alabama, once for South Carolina) and has averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Advantage: Kentucky
Shooting guard
• Kentucky senior Otega Oweh (16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals) has scored 20 points or more in six of UK’s eight SEC games to date. In those eight league contests, the 6-4, 220-pound product of Newark, New Jersey, is averaging 19.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 steals. In last season’s loss to Arkansas, Oweh hit 5 of 13 shots and had 10 points.
• Arkansas freshman Meleek Thomas (15.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 40.8% 3-pointers) has scored in double figures in eight of the Razorbacks’ past nine games. He had nine points, albeit on 4-of-17 shooting, in the other game, a 90-76 loss at Georgia. A 6-5, 185-pound product of Pittsburgh, Thomas has moved into the starting lineup in place of veteran D.J. Wagner as an antidote to Arkansas’ slow starts in games.
Advantage: Kentucky
Point guard
• Kentucky senior Denzel Aberdeen (12.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists) was one of the key cogs in UK’s five-game win streak that was snapped Tuesday night at Vandy. However, the 6-5, 195-pound Orlando, Florida, product has cooled off, making a combined 7 of 22 shots over the Wildcats’ past two games. While playing for Florida, Aberdeen faced Arkansas three times and scored a total of five points in that trio of games.
• Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. (20.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists) had a double-double, 21 points and 10 assists, in the Razorbacks’ 83-79 win at Oklahoma on Tuesday night. A 6-3, 190-pound product of Detroit, Acuff has scored at least 17 points in the past 15 Arkansas games. He has also reached double digits in assists four times this season.
Advantage: Arkansas
Bench
• Kentucky depth has been thinned out by injuries to projected starters Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams. ... Power forward Mouhamed Dioubate (8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 55.8% FGs) scored only two points in the loss at Vanderbilt but had seven rebounds and five blocked shots. ... Junior big man Brandon Garrison (3.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 54.7% FGs) has gone scoreless in UK’s past three games and has only two points to show for the Wildcats’ past five contests. ... Freshman guard Jasper Johnson (6.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists) hit 4 of 8 shots and had 11 points in Kentucky’s 72-63 win over Ole Miss last Saturday. The 6-5, 180-pound, former Woodford County High School star hit only 1 of 5 shots and had five points in the loss at Vandy.
• Arkansas has moved former Kentucky guard D.J. Wagner (7.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 34.8% treys) to a reserve role after he made 18 starts this season. The 6-4, 190-pound junior has reached double figures in scoring only twice in the past eight games. Wagner was terrific last season against his old team, hitting 7 of 13 shots and finishing with 17 points and eight assists in the Razorbacks’ win at Rupp Arena. ... Ex-UK commitment Billy Richmond (8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 54.8% FGs) had nine points and three rebounds in Tuesday’s win at Oklahoma. The 6-6, 205-pound sophomore had four points and two boards vs. Kentucky last season. ... A 6-10, 240-pound transfer from Florida State, Malique Ewin (9.8 points, 5 rebounds, 60.6% FGs) has scored in double figures in five of the past six games.
Advantage: Arkansas
Trends and history
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Arkansas 36-15. However, the Razorbacks have won four of the past seven meetings with the Wildcats.
• UK head man Mark Pope is 0-1 as Cats coach against Arkansas.
• Arkansas coach John Calipari coached Kentucky to a 410-123 mark from 2009 through 2024. Against UK, Calipari is 3-4 in his career — 1-4 at Massachusetts, 1-0 at Memphis and 1-0 at Arkansas.
• Kentucky is 2-3 this season in true road games.
• Arkansas is 12-0 at Bud Walton Arena in 2025-26.
Advantage: Arkansas
Prediction
Arkansas 73, Kentucky 68
