Arkansas (22-6, 11-4 SEC) counts fellow SEC powers No. 3 Auburn and No. 17 Tennessee among the teams it has beaten over the past month at Bud Walton Arena in an environment that appears to be one of college basketball’s best. Invigorated by last season’s Elite Eight run and the energy of third-year coach Eric Musselman, the Razorbacks have rebounded from an 0-3 start to league play to win 12 of their last 13 games.
Kentucky (23-5, 12-3) is entering off consecutive home victories over Alabama and LSU but lost by 13 at Tennessee the last time it played away from home. The Wildcats are navigating injuries to point guards Sahvir Wheeler (wrist) and TyTy Washington (leg), which has forced John Calipari to improvise and reach into his bench. A win here would keep UK on Auburn’s heels for at least a share of the SEC regular season title. But if Washington and Wheeler need to sit in order to preserve themselves for the postseason, then taking down Arka
