The 2024-25 college basketball season is just over six months away, but it’s never too early for projections. John Calipari’s decision to depart his post at Kentucky for the vacant job at Arkansas last month created a ripple effect throughout the sport that resulted in Mark Pope returning to his alma mater after spending five seasons at BYU.
Let’s say, just for fun, we convinced the two teams to meet somewhere in the middle for a scrimmage this month (Poplar Bluff, anyone?). They’ll of course face off at a to-be-determined time and location during SEC play in 2024-25, but we want answers now. Who would be favored in one of college basketball’s most anticipated games of the season? Who would win?
Arkansas and Kentucky will feature rosters that will look drastically different from the previous season. Since Calipari’s arrival in Arkansas, he’s helped land five former Kentucky pledges (Karter Knox, Zvonimir Ivišić, Boogie Fland, Adou Theiro, and Billy Richmond) to pair with former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo and FAU star guard Johnell Davis.
Pope is building a roster that features zero returning scholarship players. His first transfer portal commitment came from incoming freshman guard Collin Chandler, who spent the last two years on a Mormon mission. Chandler was Pope’s highest-rated signee (No. 33 overall) during his tenure at BYU.
Kentucky has landed high-profile commitments from Dayton sharpshooter Koby Brea, West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa, San Diego State guard Lamont Butler, and Oklahoma guard Otega Oweh. All four players project as impact players as Kentucky enters a new era.
While both teams are expected to add more players via the transfer portal in the coming weeks, here is the case for each team if the first matchup happened today with the current rosters.
