Halftime Report
Arkansas fell flat on their face against Ole Miss on Wednesday, but memory of that harsh loss doesn’t seem to have tripped them up today. A win is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but Arkansas is up 26-24 over Kentucky.
Arkansas came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Kentucky Wildcats @ Arkansas Razorbacks
Current Records: Kentucky 14-4, Arkansas 10-9
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET
- Where: Bud Walton Arena — Fayetteville, Arkansas
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $24.98
What to Know
Arkansas will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Kentucky Wildcats will face off in an SEC battle at 6:00 p.m. ET at Bud Walton Arena. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they’ll have plenty of motivation to get the ‘W’.
Last Wednesday, the Razorbacks took a serious blow against the Rebels, falling 77-51. Arkansas has now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Kentucky last Tuesday, but the final result did not. They lost to the Gamecocks on the road by a decisive 79-62 margin. The result shouldn’t come as a shock considering that’s the fewest points Kentucky has scored all season.
Despite the loss, Kentucky had strong showings from Tre Mitchell, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds, and Rob Dillingham, who scored 16 points.
Kentucky struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. They were smoked by their opponents in that department as South Carolina racked up 20 assists.
The Razorbacks bumped their record down to 10-9 with that defeat, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. That rough patch could be blamed on the team’s lackluster offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 63.5 points per game. As for the Wildcats, their loss dropped their record down to 14-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Arkansas and Kentucky are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Arkansas hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.2 points per game. However, it’s not like Kentucky (currently ranked first in scoring) struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 89.9 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Arkansas came up short against Kentucky in their previous meeting back in March of 2023, falling 88-79. Can Arkansas avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Kentucky is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Arkansas, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 164 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Kentucky has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Arkansas.
- Mar 04, 2023 – Kentucky 88 vs. Arkansas 79
- Feb 07, 2023 – Arkansas 88 vs. Kentucky 73
- Feb 26, 2022 – Arkansas 75 vs. Kentucky 73
- Feb 09, 2021 – Arkansas 81 vs. Kentucky 80
- Jan 18, 2020 – Kentucky 73 vs. Arkansas 66
- Feb 26, 2019 – Kentucky 70 vs. Arkansas 66
- Feb 20, 2018 – Kentucky 87 vs. Arkansas 72
- Mar 12, 2017 – Kentucky 82 vs. Arkansas 65
- Jan 07, 2017 – Kentucky 97 vs. Arkansas 71
- Jan 21, 2016 – Kentucky 80 vs. Arkansas 66
