John Calipari ejection sparks Kentucky to win at Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Kentucky basketball averted a second consecutive road collapse to hold onto a 73-66 victory against Arkansas.

After blowing an 11-point second-half lead, Kentucky appeared to be sparked by the ejection of coach John Calipari to right the ship and rally for the victory. Kentucky had blown a 14-point second half lead in Wednesday's loss at South Carolina and saw a 15-point lead cut to three points in the second half against Alabama at home a week ago.

Junior forward Nick Richards led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds. He was joined in double figures by sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans (13), sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley (13), freshman guard Tyrese Maxey (11) and freshman forward Keion Brooks (10). Quickley, who entered the game shooting 57.9% from the field in SEC play hit just 3 of 14 shots and 1 of 5 3-pointers but contributed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.

Here is what we learned from the win.

Calipari ejection sparks strong finish

Kentucky played the last 8:19 without Calipari, who was ejected after picking up two quick technical fouls while arguing a call that went against EJ Montgomery.

The technical fouls came after Arkansas had tied the game at 44 and Montgomery was whistled for a foul. No Kentucky coach or player made any effort to restrain Calipari from arguing with the officials even after his first technical.

The ejection appeared to fire up Calipari’s team. Arkansas made 3 of 4 technical free throws to take a 47-44 lead before Kentucky erupted for a 17-2 run to take control of the game. Before Calipari’s technical fouls, 11 of 15 fouls in the second half had been called against Kentucky. After his ejection, five of the next six fouls where whistled against Arkansas during Kentucky's run.

Size advantage

Playing a four-guard lineup for much of the game, Arkansas started no player taller than 6-foot-6. Kentucky made the most of its considerable size advantage with a 48-28 edge in rebounds.

Richards had his way whenever Kentucky could get him the ball cleanly, hitting 6 of 8 shots and 4 of 4 free throws, but he and sophomore forward EJ Montgomery tied for the team lead with three turnovers. UK guards deserve much of the credit for the rebounding advantage with 24 boards between them.

Progress for Juzang

For the second consecutive game, freshman guard Johnny Juzang played more than expected.

The California native earned a longer look with five rebounds in eight minutes at South Carolina, but against Arkansas he was forced into a more prominent role due to foul trouble for Hagans and Maxey. Juzang, who missed the three games before South Carolina due to illness, responded by hitting his first two shots, including just his third 3-pointer of the season.

Despite arriving on campus with the reputation of a lights-out 3-point shooter, Juzang entered the afternoon shooting just 22.6% from the field and 13.3% (2 for 15) from 3-point range. The performance marked just the second time this season he had hit multiple field goals in the same game.

Juzang finished the game with five points on 2-for-5 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes.