For Kentucky, the game before The Game was a tough one on paper — a Tuesday night road contest against Rick Barnes' Tennessee Vols, who were ranked No. 1 in the country just a few weeks ago and listed as 10.

Calipari returns to Kentucky for the first time Saturday when the Wildcats host Arkansas. The Razorbacks (12-8, 1-6) have this week off but No. 12 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3) has a huge game tonight at No. 8 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3).

Tennessee fought back within 74-73 with 28.6 seconds left on a Chaz Lanier 3-pointer but Otega Oweh, who had 14 points, buried four free throws to seal the deal. The win moved Kentucky to 15-5, 4-3 in the SEC and dropped Tennessee to 17-4, 4-4. The Hogs are a stunning 12-8, 1-6.

There was once a time where John Calipari's return to Rupp Arena on Feb. 1 was thought of as a game that would rival college basketball's greatest regular-season games ever. With a few days remaining until tipoff,

Ignore the hype. Ignore the noise. Ignore the circus that is sure to surround the return of John Vincent Calipari, who in a 15-year run as the UK coach took the Wildcats to four Final Fours and a national championship before his Big Blue express ran out of steam.

John Calipari knows all too well how passionate the Kentucky fan base is, and so he's not naive about what Saturday night could be like.

John Calipari will make his first visit to Rupp Arena on Saturday since leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. His longtime coaching rival wants Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with respect.

As Arkansas basketball's John Calipari comes back to Kentucky, Rick Pitino has a message.

Auburn has all but sewn up its first one-seed since 1998-99 with an incredible 12-1 record against Quad 1 opponents. Houston led all teams with 13 Quad 1 wins in the regular season last season, and the Tigers have a chance to smash that mark with eight more Quad 1 matchups over their final 11 games of the regular season.

Notable notes, stats that stand out, and emerging trends as college basketball closes out the month of January.

John Calipari's anticipated return to Kentucky is just 1 of the 10 things Neil Blackmon is overreacting to this week in SEC basketball.