John Calipari secures his Saturday fate after comparing Arkansas and Kentucky fans

John Calipari's return to Lexington is one of the most-anticipated matchups of the college basketball season. Were it not for Duke-UNC on the same weekend, Kentucky vs Arkansas would be the marquee game on the schedule for the storylines alone.

Arkansas paid Calipari like a king in hopes he'd leave Kentucky for an SEC rival. What they didn't expect was how eager Kentucky fans and even some in the athletic department would be upon Cal's departure. Sometimes, these things naturally run their course. Calipari's method had grown stale, as National Championships are rarely won these days with a team of freshmen, one-and-done level talents. Kentucky lacked veteran leadership and fully-developed upperclassmen they could have landed in the transfer portal. Calipari knows that now.

However, Calipari isn't off to the best start at Arkansas. The SEC is bumpy this season if only due to its dominant nature – they could get as many as 13 teams into the NCAA Tournament when all is said and done. Rival SEC coaches went on the record this past week and took shots at Calipari and the roster he assembled. It's not the past look.

John Calipari compares Kentucky fans to Arkansas fans, which isn't ideal

A win over Kentucky in Lexington would go a long way in vindicating Calipari for leaving in the first place, and providing a young team with some confidence heading into the most important part of their schedule. That task will not be easy, though, as Calipari is expecting boos when he enters Rupp Arena Saturday.

“We’re going to have three players that played there. My guess is they’re going to get booed. My guess is I’m gonna get booed. But that’s all part of it. You get booed,” Calipari said. “Love the people, fans are great. You got some of the crazies, but that’s everywhere. The fans are great because they care about the program, they love the program there and they adopt the players as their own. They do. Our fans are the same.”

Calipari lamented that he had so many memories in Lexington and was thankful for his time there. He will get together with old friends prior to Saturday's game, as he should, in hopes of keeping those relationships alive.

Calipari may be booed. That does not mean Kentucky fans aren't appreciative of his accomplishments – he has the second-most wins in Kentucky basketball history – but watching him on the opposing sideline will be difficult. Comparing BBN to Arkansas fans will not help matters, as Calipari did above.

At the end of the day, this is just a basketball game. But for a fanbase and state which lives and breathes the sport, it's far more than that.