Kentucky Wildcats vs Arkansas Razorbacks Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/31/2026

Game Time: 6:30 pm ET, Saturday, January 31, 2026

Venue:  Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, AR

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +7.5, Arkansas -7.5; Over/Under:  162.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +7.5, Arkansas -7.5; Over/Under:  162.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +7.5, Arkansas -7.5; Over/Under:  162.5 points

Kentucky Wildcats:  14-7 (5-3) (6th place, SEC)

Arkansas Razorbacks:  16-5 (6-2) (2nd place, SEC)

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Kentucky Wildcats:  4-1  last 5

Arkansas Razorbacks:  4-1  last 5

Kentucky is entering this game with a 14-7 record overall, a 5-3 record in conference games, and they are 2-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Vanderbilt Commodores in their last game. Otega Oweh led the team in points in that game with 20 while Denzel Aberdeen was next on the team with 15. Otega Oweh led the team in assists with 3 in that game while Malachi Moreno led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 32.2% from the field, 25% from 3-point range, and 57.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 81.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 70.8 PPG against them. Kentucky has an ATS record of 8-13 this season and their O/U record is 9-12.

Arkansas is entering this game with a 16-5 record overall, a 6-2 conference record, and they are 12-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Oklahoma Sooners in their last game. Darius Acuff led the team in points in that game with 21 while Meleek Thomas was next on the team with 16. Darius Acuff led the team in assists with 9 in that game while Trevon Brazile led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 55.6% from the field, 11.8% from 3-point range, and 84.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 89.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 77.2 PPG against them. Arkansas has an ATS record of 14-7 this season and their O/U record is 11-10.

The current betting odds have Arkansas listed as a 7.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Arkansas has looked really good in their games this season with their 16-5 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which has them right near the top of the SEC. They have looked great on their home court too with their 12-0 home record this season. Meanwhile, Kentucky has looked good in their games this season with their 14-7 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which has them in the top half of the SEC. They haven't been a good road team though with their 2-3 road record this year. Kentucky is 4-1 in their last 5 games and they were starting to get hot after a bad start to the SEC schedule and the season overall, but that streak is starting to look like fools gold now. They were beating up on some of the bad teams in the SEC during that hot streak, but they have struggled a lot in their games against ranked opponents this year and they are also off a huge loss to Vanderbilt by over 20 points in their last one. They have looked a lot worse in road games too and that is going to be a big issue since Arkansas has looked like a different team on their home court this year. Arkansas is also 4-1 in their last 5 games, but they have some better wins under their belt and they have some momentum on their side now with 3 wins in a row. They have also been blowing out a lot of opponents at home this season and they are going to come with some extra effort for Cal in this game. Look for Arkansas to continue rolling on their home court while Kentucky continues to struggle against ranked opponents. The best way to place a bet here is on Arkansas to cover the spread in this game. 

Kentucky Arkansas Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Saturday, January 31, 2026 (6:30 pm ET start time) is Arkansas 82 Kentucky 71.

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Kentucky Wildcats: 6-1 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 3 or more consecutive games. 8-2 ATS off a road loss. 6-2 ATS off a road loss against a conference rival. 18-6 OVER after playing a road game. 10-5 OVER as a road underdog or pick.

Arkansas Razorbacks: 4-9 ATS after a game where they made 55% of their shots or better. 5-8 ATS at home when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 80%). 8-14 ATS in January games. 23-10 OVER as a home favorite or pick. 10-4 OVER after a game where they made 55% of their shots or better.

Kentucky Wildcats:  B. Hawthorne (F) Out - Redshirt. K. Williams (G) Out - Foot. J. Lowe (G) Out - Undisclosed. J. Quaintance (F) Questionable - Knee.

Arkansas Razorbacks:  None.

"It's important, but we just need to do that to actually engage our team in the game. It's been a space where we've been fighting a difficult battle all year long to get our guys to kind of embrace this idea of like being incredibly physical and forceful to earn possessions for teammates. And we didn't do that at all. (Vandy's) switching hurt us. Their physicality hurt us. Their heavy bottoms hurt us. Their volume at the rim hurt us and we just failed to make the plays that you need to make in that situation actually combat that." - Mark Pope after his team’s loss against Vandy in their last game. 

“They're going through exactly what we went through a year ago. Stuff didn't bounce [their] way. My guess is, I wouldn't want to play these guys the next couple games.” - John Calipari after his team’s win against Oklahoma in their last game. 

D. Aberdeen 

C. Chandler 

M. Dioubate 

B. Garrison 

O. Oweh

D. Acuff 

T. Brazile 

K. Knox 

N. Pringle 

D. Wagner

PPG: Otega Oweh (16.3)

APG: Denzel Aberdeen (3.1)

Reb/G: Malachi Moreno (6.5)

PPG: Darius Acuff Jr. (20.2)

APG: Darius Acuff Jr. (6.4)

Reb/G: Trevon Brazile (6.9)

Coaches:

Kentucky Wildcats: Mark Pope (2nd season)

Arkansas Razorbacks: John Calipari (2nd season)