Kansas' Bill Self says Hogs are better than some of Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats teams

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two Hall of Fame coaches faced off in Game 13, but this time Calipari was in a different location for the first time in 15 years. His Razorbacks defeated the No. 1 Jayhawks 85-69 in an exhibition game at sold-out Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas was led by a guard duo in Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner and 5-star freshman Boogie Fland, both of whom took turns at point guard during the game. Wagner and Fland combined for 46 points against a Jayhawks team without two starters in the lineup.

The undermanning didn't stop Self from complementing the Razorbacks. He compared the Hogs to some of the top-notch Kentucky squads Calipari has assembled over the last 15 years.

“I actually think this team is better than some of his teams at Kentucky,” Calipari said. “There were a few (Kentucky) teams that were elite, elite, elite. This team, in my opinion, has a chance to be great and may be more talented than some of the teams (Calipari) had at Kentucky. Not all of them, but some of them.

Calipari tried to temper expectations leading up to the charity event, as some of his players were still in recovery mode from various injuries. Florida Atlantic transfer Johnell Davis recovered from a wrist injury that left him with just seven total points, but made his presence felt in other ways with solid defense and attacks on the glass.

All-SEC Defensive Team center Jonas Aidoo was unavailable Friday night, but that didn't stop Arkansas from showing depth in the post. Strikers Adou Thiero, Trevon Brazile and Zvonimir Ivisic showed they were more than capable of performing at their best in his absence.

Self's comments were shared with Calipari during his press conference and he responded in a way most would expect from him at that point.

“It is very early to make this statement,” Calipari said. “It is very early to make this statement. And yes, I had some (elite) teams, I had some middle teams and I had all of it. Where will this thing take place? All I know is that when you have really good guards, you usually have a really good team.”

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