With the tipoff time being released for Kentucky vs. Arkansas it is official this will be the game of the year

John Calipari vs. Mark Pope in Rupp Arena will be one of the best games of the college basketball season.

University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope applauds as Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart introduces him to the thousands of fans in Rupp Arena for his press conference on Sunday, April 14, 2024. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Kentucky Wildcats already had their schedule, but yesterday, tipoff times and TV channels were announced, so now Kentucky fans know when some of the biggest games of the season will be played.

Kentucky fans are very excited for one game in particular, and that is when the Wildcats will face Arkansas in Rupp Arena. Of course, former Kentucky coach John Calipari made the move to Fayetteville, so this will be one of the most anticipated games of the college basketball season.

Bad news for Coach Calipari and his Arkansas team is that they will take on the Wildcats at 9:00 pm on February 1st, which is a Saturday. This game is on ESPN and very well could be GameDay. The Hogs are going to be walking into a hectic environment that could make for one of the best games this season in all of college basketball.

Coach Calipari has a good team that he built via high school recruiting and the transfer portal, plus a handful of players from last season's Kentucky team.

Coach Calipari still has some young, talented five-star guys, but it will be an older team for the former Kentucky coach as he has a lot of second-year players and a few veterans.

It's going to be interesting to see how Rupp Arena responds to the return of Coach Calipari. While the Calipari era didn't end, how many would have hoped, he still won this program a National Championship and brought fans a ton of other unforgettable memories.

College basketball fans are going to really enjoy this basketball game that should be highly competitive in a crazy environment.