John Calipari will make his first visit to Rupp Arena on Saturday since leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. His longtime coaching rival wants Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with respect.

While the Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to take on Tennessee, their next opponent, the Arkansas Razorbacks, don't have a midweek game. This means on John

Arkansas coach John Calipari isn't expecting a hero's welcome Saturday at Rupp Arena when he takes the Razorbacks to play at No. 12 Kentucky in his first game back at UK since his 15-year run leading the program ended.

Kentucky men’s basketball fans have a difficult decision ahead of them on Saturday evening when former coach John Calipari makes his grand return to Rupp Arena with Arkansas. To boo or not to boo, that is the question.

The hobbled No. 12 Wildcats, down starters Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr, show grit in tense win vs.the No. 8 Volunteers

Ignore the hype. Ignore the noise. Ignore the circus that is sure to surround the return of John Vincent Calipari, who in a 15-year run as the UK coach took the Wildcats to four Final Fours and a national championship before his Big Blue express ran out of steam.

FAYETTEVILLE — St. John's basketball coach Rick Pitino, who led Kentucky to a national championship at Kentucky in 1996, posted a video to social media Thursday morning with a plea to Big Blue Nation. Pitino asked Kentucky fans to give Arkansas coach John Calipari a standing ovation Saturday when he returns to the place he coached for 15 years.

Last season, Zvonimir Ivisic was a constant storyline for UK basketball. How has Ivisic fared this season at Arkansas?

The last time Rick Pitino took to Twitter to address Kentucky fans was after Mark Pope was hired when John Calipari left for Arkansas, a message that went a long way in getting fans on board with the surprising hire.

John Calipari knows all too well how passionate the Kentucky fan base is, and so he's not naive about what Saturday night could be like.

LEXINGTON — Normally jovial and verbose during postgame news conferences, Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope struck a different tone after last week's game against Alabama at Rupp Arena.