John Calipari on Kentucky: "They out-toughed us"

Arkansas head coach John Calipari admitted his team was out-toughed by Kentucky on Saturday.

Jan 31, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope shakes hands with Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari prior to the game at Bud Walton Arena. Kentucky won 85-77. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

This Kentucky basketball team found themselves in a rough spot yet again as they were in need of a response against Arkansas after their embarrassing loss to Vandy. In that loss, Pope's Wildcats were out-toughed in every area from the start. Slow starts have been a major weakness for this team, but they finally came out as the aggressors against Arkansas.

Kentucky took their first halftime lead on the road this season against the Razorbacks, where they lead for the entire first half and much of the second half, where their toughness really showed. After the game, Arkansas head coach John Calipari admitted that his team was simply out-toughed for the entire game. The Wildcats out-rebounded Arkansas by nine for the entire game, including getting to the rim at will, embracing the fact that plenty of fouls were being called.

"Two things happened and you can talk shooting and all you want. They out-toughed us," Calipari said of his team's 85-77 loss to Kentucky. "They out-rebounded us by nine, ten rebounds. And we said, you're not winning the game unless you do that. Then, throw on top of it, we didn't make free throws again. I mean, we shot an airball from the -- what? So, when you get in this kind of game and you get rattled a little bit, that's the kind of stuff that happens. Then, the stuff in the end. It's a tie game, we get a technical foul and all of a sudden they get four (free throws) and the ball and then they tip out a ball. I mean, wait a minute, it was a tie game. And it was a tie game from where we were up four, ready to go. And so, we just got a lot of stuff to learn. Give Kentucky credit. This was a team coming in more desperate than us and played way tougher than we played."

The Wildcats really took advantage of the chippiness when things were about to get sideways, as their aggressiveness from the entire game payed off. Kentucky not only out-rebounded Arkansas 35-26, but they were more aggressive getting to the line in a game where many, many fouls were being called. Kentucky went 16-25 on free throws in the second half, while Arkansas was just 10-17.

One of the biggest differences in the game, Kentucky embraced it in a big way. The Wildcats were the aggressors first and it paid off towards the end of the game where being physical started to become more rewarding.