FAYETTEVILLE — St. John's basketball coach Rick Pitino, who led Kentucky to a national championship at Kentucky in 1996, posted a video to social media Thursday morning with a plea to Big Blue Nation. Pitino asked Kentucky fans to give Arkansas coach John Calipari a standing ovation Saturday when he returns to the place he coached for 15 years.

Contrast that success with Calipari’s first Arkansas team, which needed six tries to notch its first SEC win of the year, and Kentucky fans figure to have plenty of ammunition Saturday. The Razorbacks are just 12-8 overall, and their 1-6 start to SEC play has them looking like a long shot for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Two days before his highly anticipated return to Rupp Arena, John Calipari received a show of support from an unlikely ally. Rick Pitino, of all people, posted a video message to social media encouraging Big Blue Nation to treat Calipari with “respect and admiration” when the former longtime Kentucky coach brings his struggling Arkansas team to