John Calipari has seen this rivalry before, but this one was different. On Wednesday night, the famous coach who turned Kentucky into a basketball powerhouse walked into Rupp Arena’s echo. This time, though, he was wearing Arkansas colors and facing Louisville, who belong to the same conference. His No. 25 Razorbacks beat No. 6 Louisville 89-80, giving him his 20th win against the Cardinals. But this win wasn’t just another one on his resume; it showed that Calipari still had answers after losing to Duke and Michigan State.

When Calipari talked about his time at Louisville, he showed that he really cared about the program instead of being competitive. He shared his unfiltered thoughts about the rivalry on The Field of 68’s X account:

“No, I love the program there. Coach Denny Crum and I were really good friends. Matter of fact, Susan had me over to his house last week.”

His reflection was honest and exuded how he felt after years of mutual respect while he was in Kentucky, where he went 13-3 against the Cardinals. This comment highlights something that is often forgotten in college basketball talk: coaching rivalries, while fierce, often hide personal relationships that have been built over decades of competition.

“I’ve done a crap job of doing that in the two games we had a chance to win. I hadn’t coached them well enough,” he said, showing how direct he is as a leader.

This self-accountability came after Arkansas blew a six-point lead against Duke in the last few minutes and lost by two points on Thanksgiving. Calipari, on the other hand, made clear changes to fix things against Louisville. Arkansas scored 17 points to the Cardinals’ 15 in the last seven minutes, which was a close margin but enough to win.

Trevon Brazile was the only player left from the previous Arkansas team, and he showed how much Calipari’s coaching helped in tough situations. The senior scored 21 points, 17 of which came in the first half. With 2:27 left, he threw down an emphatic alley-oop dunk that ended Louisville’s comeback attempt. Louisville, which had won all of its games and led Division I in scoring margin with an average victory margin of 33 points, only made 8 of 37 three-pointers, which is a big difference from their season average of 13 makes per game.

John Calipari ends Louisville’s perfect season with a defensive masterclass

Louisville was the best team in the country for scoring margin, but John Calipari had other ideas. Arkansas controlled the paint and ended Louisville’s seven-game winning streak in a big way. The Cardinals thought they would easily win again when they walked into Bud Walton Arena, but they ran into a wall of defense that stopped their entire offense from working from start to finish.

Louisville couldn’t hit the target when it counted. They made only 8 of 37 three-pointers and shot 41% from the field, which is an enormous drop from their season-long great shooting. Mikel Brown Jr. scored 22 points, and Ryan Conwell scored 15, but no one else could find the basket. Arkansas got 10 more rebounds and turned those extra possessions into 27 second-chance points that slowly wore down Louisville’s will.

The battle for rebounds decided everything. Arkansas grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, but Louisville’s defense kept falling apart on the glass. Four different Razorbacks scored at least ten points, which showed that their offense was balanced and Louisville couldn’t stop it. Arkansas made 27 of 35 free throws, while Louisville only made 14 of 18.

Louisville fought back for a short time in the second half, getting the score down to five points at one point. But Calipari’s experience showed through as his team stayed calm and didn’t panic. The Cardinals just couldn’t put together stops and baskets when they needed them most, leaving them with tough questions before their game against Indiana on Saturday.