FAYETTEVILLE -- Over the past 13 seasons, Kansas Coach Bill Self got used to playing Coach John Calipari's Kentucky teams.
Calipari and Self, both Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees with national championships on their resumes, were on opposing benches in 11 Kentucky-Kansas games.
In 10 of those games both teams were ranked, including when No. 1 Kentucky beat No. 6 Kansas 67-59 to win the 2012 national title game in New Orleans.
Kansas was No. 1 when the Jayhawks beat No. 17 Kentucky 89-84 last season in Chicago to improve to 6-5 against Calipari's Wildcats.
Self's Jayhawks were No. 1 again in The Associated Press preseason poll when they came into Walton Arena on Friday night to face Calipari's first University of Arkansas team in a charity exhibition game.
So when it comes to Calipari's teams, Self's opinion should carry significant weight.
"I actually think this team is better than some of the ones he's had at Kentucky," Self said after the Razorbacks beat the Jayhawks 86-69 before an announced sellout crowd of 19,200. "And there were a couple of teams that were elite, elite, elite.
"This team, to me, has a chance to be terrific. And maybe more talented than some of the teams he's had at Kentucky. Not all of them, but some of them. I think they have a real chance."
Calipari didn't want to get carried away after an exhibition victory over a Kansas team missing some key players -- including preseason All-American center Hunter Dickinson -- because of injuries.
"Very early to make that statement," Calipari said when told of Self's comments.
Calipari used hand gestures to describe his Kentucky teams the past 15 seasons that made four Final Four appearances.
"Yeah, I had these teams," Calipari said, raising his hand high before lowering it. "And then I had some teams in the middle and I had all of it.
"Where will this thing play out? All I know is, when you have really good guards, you usually have a really good team."
The Razorbacks, ranked No. 16, were led by their guards against Kansas.
Sophomore D.J. Wagner, who followed Calipari from Kentucky to Arkansas, scored a team-high 24 points.
Freshman Boogie Fland had 22 points, 6 steals and 5 assists. Both started and played 35 minutes.
Johnell Davis, a senior transfer from Florida Atlantic who has been limited in practice because of a wrist injury, played 25 minutes off the bench and had 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal while shooting 2 of 9 from the field.
"That'll be the best trio of guards we play against this year," Self said. "There won't be anybody better than that we play against."
High praise from Self considering that in the Big 12 the Jayhawks' opponents include No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor and No. 20 Cincinnati and they'll have nonconference games against No. 7 Duke, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 15 Creighton as well as Michigan State, North Carolina State and Missouri.
Among the highlight plays for Fland was making a steal, driving to the basket and instead of taking a shot, tossing the ball off the backboard for an assist on a Trevon Brazile dunk.
Fland also took good care of the ball, limiting his turnovers to two.
"Everybody knows this, but he's really good," Self said when asked about Fland. "D.J. was really good. Their most talented guard (Davis) maybe isn't quite himself yet."
Arkansas led by as many as 20 points at 63-43.
"It was an exhibition, but the competitor in all of us still wanted to win," Wagner said. "The atmosphere was great."
The Razorbacks played without senior forward Jonas Aidoo, a transfer from Tennessee who sat out with an undisclosed injury.
Dickinson didn't play because of a foot injury. The Jayhawks also were missing senior guard Shakeel Moore, a transfer from Mississippi State, and junior forward Rylan Griffen, a transfer from Alabama, because of injuries.
"Look, they had (three) of their better players out," Calipari said. "So let's not do, like, triple backflips."
Calipari said he liked how the Razorbacks defended, on the ball especially, as the Jayhawks had 17 turnovers.
"I'm looking at this different than maybe everybody else," Calipari said. "I'm happy we played the way we did.
"Did we look organized? Did we look like we really tried to play hard and defend?
"We've only been together a short time, so I'm happy because I wanted people to leave and say, 'That was fun to watch.' "
When Calipari entered the arena before tipoff, the crowd roared and the Razorbacks gave the fans plenty to cheer about during the game and keep them engaged.
"Man, it was amazing," Fland said. "I was having fun out there. I was smiling up and down the court."
Ivisic, a 7-2 sophomore who transferred to Arkansas from Kentucky, had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He hit 5 of 10 shots and 6 of 6 free throws.
"Z showed some stuff, but he still has work to do," Calipari said.
Junior forward Adou Thiero, another Kentucky transfer, hit the only shot he took and finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 17 minutes. He drew praise from Calipari for his defense and physical presence.
Brazile, a junior forward and the lone returning scholarship player for the Razorbacks, had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 21 minutes off the bench. He didn't attempt a three-pointer and hit 3 of 4 free throws.
Arkansas freshman forward Karter Knox had nine points.
"It looked as though the kids had fun," Calipari said. "I want them to enjoy playing. The fans, unbelievable crowd."
Arkansas jumped out to a 16-9 lead.
"They just hit us in the mouth," said Kansas senior guard Dajuan Harris, who scored 26 points. "They were more athletic, they were the better team.
"They showed out and packed the stadium. It was a good environment. I think they did a good job on their part bringing the fans and getting into it."
Calipari said the Razorbacks got sloppy handling the ball in the second half -- when they had 10 of their 13 turnovers -- and needed to rebound better, so he'll have some talking points for their second exhibition game at TCU next weekend.
Kansas got as close as eight points in the final four minutes after trailing by 20.
"We got arrogant," Calipari said on the Razorback Sports Network postgame radio show. "We thought the game was over. I was happy they made a run."
Self was asked what he learned about the Jayhawks.
"It wasn't our team, first of all," Self said in reference to the injured players who sat out. "But I didn't learn anything very favorable.
"I learned their three guards kicked our three guards' butt. I learned their bigs kicked our big guys' butt. I'm thinking that it'll be a different team when some other guys get out there.
"But Arkansas is really talented. They've got great pieces."