LEXINGTON, Ky. — John Calipari was confused.
He admitted as much.
There were different times during Saturday’s game at Rupp Arena, where he spent 15 years as Kentucky’s coach, he looked up at the scoreboard and was concerned. He popped a piece of gum in his mouth at different points and wore a stressed expression when he peered at the score to see the Wildcats behind.
But then came relief.
He doesn’t coach them anymore.
Oh yeah, Calipari remembered, he coaches Arkansas now.
“It was 15 years,” he said, “you know?”
Much had been made of the Razorbacks men’s basketball coach’s return to Rupp Arena, just over two miles from his former home on Richmond Road, and how he and his team would react.