LOOK: Kentucky students camped outside of Rupp Arena for John Calipari's return

Kentucky students are fired up for the return of John Calipari.

Mar 7, 2020; Greenville, SC, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats mascot dances during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

One of the biggest games of the college basketball season is coming up on Saturday evening as John Calipari is set to make his return to Rupp Arena, which will capture the attention of every college basketball fan.

While the Hogs are only 1-6 in SEC play, there is still a lot of excitement around this game because everyone is fired up to see how Big Blue Nation will react to Calipari's return.

The Kentucky students are fired up for this basketball game as they camped out at Rupp Arena overnight, hoping to get the best possible spot in the eruption zone.

The nine pm Rupp Arena crowd is going to be rowdy, and it will likely be one of the best crowds at a Kentucky home game in a while.

While there are a lot of narratives surrounding this game that don't have to do with basketball, this is a must-win for Mark Pope's team, and they need to come out hot after the big win over Tennessee.

Kentucky will struggle to slow former Wildcat Adou Thiero in this game, but the Hogs struggle to shoot the three-ball which will make it hard for them to score outside of Thiero.

Coach Pope wants to win this game bad as it will prove the Kentucky basketball program is in a much better place under the new regime. This has been made clear already this season with the play of Kentucky and Arkansas, but winning this game is without question on Pope's bucket list.

Here are some videos of the crowd waiting outside of Rupp Arena ahead of this highly anticipated game.

Rupp 10 hours before tip!@MarioMaitland_3 @KSRonX @KySportsRadio @TristanUda @DrewFranklinKSR @JackPilgrimKSR pic.twitter.com/MzHBNUQfCE

— Tyler sousa (@Tylersousa20) February 1, 2025

Just got this from a great friend & UK student who got up at 4a this morning— picked up 5 friends & was in line at Rupp at 5am!
Let’s go!!! pic.twitter.com/5rYLSpZoVy

— Dave Buzz Baker (@buzzbaker) February 1, 2025