It's one of the most unknown, underrated rivalries in college basketball. That is until the Wildcats' 15-year-long head coach moved to Fayetteville to lead the Hogs. The national media have followed coach John Calipari every step of the way at Arkansas, giving the rivalry the attention it deserves.
While Cal's defection to Arkansas has illuminated the rivalry, arguably, it started because of a similar betrayal seven years before the two teams played consistently. In 1985, after 11 seasons, five regular season SWC championships, three SWC tournament championships, and nine consecutive NCAA appearances, including a final four, Arkansas's head coach Eddie Sutton took the job at Kentucky.
Before Sutton came to the Natural State, the program had barely held its head above water since the early 1950s. He built the Razorbacks into a perennial powerhouse that dominated the Southwest Conference, and losing him to Kentucky felt like a massive setback. But it was what Sutton said upon arriving that ignited the first flames of this rivalry.
"When [Kentucky President Otis Singletary] called me, believe me, I would have crawled all the way to Lexington," Sutton said during the announcement press conference. "Fortunately, I was already here for the Final Four." Arkansas fans, as they do, took the quote personally, blasting it from Fayetteville to Little Rock to Texarkana.
It's evident from the rest of the press conference that Sutton wasn't trying to slight Arkansas, merely expressing his excitement to become the new head coach at Kentucky. "When you think about basketball, that's Kentucky," said Sutton. "It's the only job I'd leave the University of Arkansas for." But as nice a compliment as that was, nothing could undo the now infamous "crawling" comment.
Since then, Arkansas and Kentucky have had some epic battles, most of which the Wildcats claimed victory. However, the Hogs have a fair share of their own. Here, we'll look at the five greatest Arkansas wins in the series, dating back to their first meeting as SEC opponents.
Five greatest Arkansas wins over Kentucky
5. Arkansas at No. 16 Kentucky, Mar. 10, 2000
Since the 1995 season, the Razorbacks had lost seven of the last eight games to Kentucky by the turn of the century, including their first game in 2000. Arkansas lost 60-55 in the regular season.
However, in their second meeting, the Hogs drew the Wildcats in the second round of the SEC Tournament, beating them 86-72 — Arkansas's third-highest margin of victory — on their way to the SEC title.
4. No. 18 Arkansas vs No. 6 Kentucky, Feb. 26, 2022
The 2021-22 season was special. Arkansas struggled going into SEC play, as it always did under head coach Eric Musselman. But the Razorbacks caught fire after three games, going on a nine-game winning streak. At the end of which, Arkansas knocked off No. 1 Auburn, the first No. 1 AP Poll team to taste defeat in Bud Walton Arena. That same team went on to beat the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga.
Before that, near the end of the regular season, Arkansas played No. 6 Kentucky, and in that game, the legend of JD Notae was born. The Covington, Ga. native took over the game, scoring 30 points, knocking down 13/26 from the field, with eight assists and a key block at the end of the game.
3. No. 3 Arkansas at No. 4 Kentucky, Feb. 9, 1994
1994. The year of Arkansas basketball's national championship. It was a season to remember, including the Razorbacks' game at Kentucky. The Hogs and Cats were two of the premier programs in the country at the time. Arkansas was No. 3, and Kentucky was No. 2. Both had national title aspirations.
Rupp Arena was packed full with the Big Blue Nation as the ref tossed the ball up for the tipoff. That helped the Wildcats get to an early 15-point lead with less than five minutes to go in the first half. Miraculously, the Hogs cut that lead to six by halftime. In the next period, Arkansas outscored the Cats 49 to 35, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Both Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson score 20-plus points.
2. Both games in 2014
In 2014, Arkansas beat Kentucky twice in the regular season, the first and only time that's happened. More impressively, in both cases, the unranked Hogs faced a top-20 Kentucky team.
On January 14, Arkansas played the Cats at home, leading slightly for most of the game. However, Kentucky's Andrew Harrison drained a tying three-point shot with three seconds to go, pushing the game into overtime.
As competitive as regulation had been, the overtime period was more so. With 12 seconds left in the OT period, Kentucky, again, tied the game, but this time left enough on the clock for another Arkansas possession. Then, the magic happened. Michael Qualls' now-famous putback dunk at the Buzzer made him a Razorback legend and gave Arkansas its first win over a ranked opponent, 87-85.
Nine years ago today, Michael Qualls stuns #13 Kentucky with this putback dunk as the Hogs win 87-85 in OT. pic.twitter.com/dWsBD9c6WI
— Hog Flashbacks (@HogFlashbacks) January 14, 2023
Nearly a month and a half later, the exact same thing happened, except the Hogs had to come from behind. On February 27, Arkansas, again, led most of the game. But with eight minutes left, the Wildcats jumped in front. Arkansas guard Rashad Madden was fouled with 30 ticks on the clock, down by two. He sank both free throws and the Razorbacks' defensive help onto the tie. It was all Hogs in overtime, and Arkansas won 71-67
1. No. 9 Arkansas at No. 8 Kentucky, Jan. 25, 1992
Here we are at No. 1, the best Arkansas win over Kentucky. What's more fitting than the Razorbacks' first win over the Cats ever?
Arkansas had played Kentucky only four times before moving to the SEC. Each time was a loss for the Hogs. However, since their last meeting in 1978, the Razorbacks had been the dominant team in the SWC, like how Kentucky was the dominant team in the SEC. Still, before Arkansas officially played a game as an SEC team, the narrative centered around how Kentucky would own Arkansas as it did the rest of the conference.
So on January 25, 1992, when the teams finally met as conference foes, the Hogs quickly quashed the naysayers, routing the Wildcats 105-88. Lee Mayberry led the Razorbacks with 23 points, but six players scored double-digit points, with only two of those who scored falling under 10.