FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Kentucky Men’s Basketball team wraps up regular season and SEC play with a trip to Fayetteville to face off against the Arkansas Razorbacks. In their first meeting of the season, Arkansas (19-11, 8-9) beat the Wildcats (20-10, 11-6) by 13 points. Kentucky will look to rebound again after a frustrating loss on Wednesday to a mediocre Vanderbilt squad.

What You Need To Know

  •  Kentucky Men's Basketball plays at Arkansas at 2 p.m. on CBS

  • In their first meeting of the season, Arkansas (19-11, 8-9) beat the Wildcats (20-10,11-6) by 13 points

  •  The Cats may be without Cason Wallace and CJ Frederick. Savhir Wheeler is also sidelined for 2-3 weeks

  • If UK wins, they secure a 3-seed in the SEC tournament next week.

One of the biggest questions going into Saturday is whether the Cats will have guards Cason Wallace or CJ Frederick back.

Wallace, who has been a much needed offensive spark for the team, went down against Vanderbilt with an ankle injury and the outlook is uncertain. Wallace is listed as a “possible starter” in the UK lineup, but that could change by game time.

Frederick has been fighting through a broken rib for two games now.

Kentucky will also be without junior guard Savhir Wheeler, who underwent a medical procedure and will be out of action for 2-3 weeks.

There is a lot on the line for both teams in terms of postseason play. If Kentucky wins, they will secure a 3-seed for the SEC Tournament and one of the coveted double-bye spots along with it. If the Wildcats lose, there are still scenarios where they can wind up with a 3-seed, but it is entirely out of their control. They will need both Missouri and Tennessee to lose their next games to stay in the third spot.

The Razorbacks are currently projected as a 9-seed for the SEC tournament. The March Madness prognosticators with The Athletic consider Arkansas a “lock” for the tournament, but another Quad 1 win would give a nice boost to their resume.

The Cats seem to be peaking at the right time—they’ve won 10 of their last 13 in SEC play. Returning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe leads the team with 17 points and 13.3 boards a game. Antonio Reeves is shooting 43% from the 3, while Jacob Toppin is averaging 8 rebounds a game and shooting almost 50% from the field.

Still, Kentucky is prone to stumble when critical players are injured, as evidenced by the loss on Senior Night against the Commodores. They will look to finish the season strong Saturday with a win and carry that momentum into the SEC tournament next week.

Keys to the game

“Big O”

Twin forwards Makhi Mitchell and Makhel Mitchell for Arkansas effectively shut down Oscar Tshiebwe in the first matchup, holding him to 7 points and 7 boards. But since then, the coaches have brought Tshiebwe out of the block to open up his offensive play and he has been dominant.

Guard play

If Wallace and Frederick are out, the Wildcats may struggle on offense. Still, the Wildcats have managed to find a way to win over the last 13 games despite many injuries. They will need at least one player to bring a spark. Arkansas plays four different guards who will keep UK busy as well, so the Cats may have to get creative.

Home-court advantage

Kentucky has been able to put on some crushing performances on the road, winning at Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss. But they have also caught a few bad breaks on the road, too, with losses at Georgia, Alabama and Missouri in SEC play. Away games are always tough, and Bud Walton Arena won’t be an exception. 

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