The University of Arkansas men's basketball team had won 66 consecutive games in which it scored 100 or more points.
Then came Saturday's shootout in Lexington, Ky.
Kentucky overcame a nine-point deficit with less than nine minutes left and rallied to beat the Razorbacks 111-102 before an announced crowd of 20,323 at Rupp Arena.
It was the first loss for the Razorbacks in which they scored 100 or more points since No. 1 UNLV beat No. 2 Arkansas 112-105 at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville on Feb. 10, 1991.
The combined 213 points were the most in the 50 games Arkansas and Kentucky have played against each other.
"The effort was phenomenal today by us, and by Kentucky," Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman said. "Kentucky played as hard as I've seen a team play.
"And I thought our team played as hard as we could play as well. We made the decision that we were going to run today."
The strategy not to try to slow down the game worked well for the Razorbacks as they took an 86-77 lead on junior guard Tramon Mark's driving basket with 8:42 left.
But the No. 16 Wildcats took control from there.
Kentucky outscored Arkansas 30-16 the final 8:22 and hit 9 of 13 shots and 11 of 13 free throws to close out the game.
"We just kept fighting no matter what," Kentucky freshman guard D.J. Wagner said. "They're a very talented team and they hit some tough shots.
"So it was important for us to lock in on defense, come together as a team. Make sure we communicated on the small things."
While the Wildcats continued to roll on offense, the Razorbacks struggled to make shots and hang onto the ball.
Arkansas was 3 of 13 from the field with four turnovers during Kentucky's decisive game-ending run.
"We had a couple of costly turnovers that I thought changed the complexion of the game, because they were live-ball turnovers," Musselman said. "Crucial turnovers."
After Kentucky pulled within 86-81 with 7:50 left on two free throws by Ivisic Zvonimir, freshman guard Rob Dillingham scored or had assists on the Wildcats' next 16 points.
Dillingham's lob pass for a Justin Edwards dunk put Kentucky ahead to stay at 93-92 with 4:45 left.
"They just put Rob Dillingham in middle ball screens, and he was getting what he wanted either a lob or a layup in that last five minutes," Mark said. "That's what hurt us."
Dillingham finished with 15 points and 5 assists and had 11 and 3 in the final 6:47, when he also made a steal.
"When we're starting the game, I don't always have the ball in my hands, I'm off the ball," Dillingham said. "I don't really mind, though, because I feel like I made plays at the end."
Senior guard Antonio Reeves led Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC) with 22 points. He also scored a game-high 24 points when the Wildcats beat the Razorbacks 63-57 at Walton Arena on Jan. 27.
Wagner scored 19 points and freshman forward Aaron Bradshaw had 15.
Senior guard Khalif Battle led Arkansas (14-15, 5-11) with 34 points. It was Battle's third consecutive game with more than 30 points.
Mark scored 23 points and senior guard Jeremiah Davenport added 13.
The game had 17 lead changes and 12 ties.
"We just came ready to play," Mark said. "Everybody that stepped on that floor was ready to go. We all saw it.
"We had great energy in the locker room, great energy in our huddles. We just couldn't get it done today."
Arkansas scored 100 or more points in an SEC game for the first time since winning 101-73 at South Carolina in 2022.
The Razorbacks hit their first six shots and finished at 53.1% (34 of 60) from the field.
"They came in with a great game plan," Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. "I knew Muss would have them ready.
"I was really worried about this game."
Calipari said that for the first time this season, he had the Wildcats stay at a hotel the night before a home game. They also had shootaround practice Saturday morning for a game that started at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
"Why? Because I knew [the game] was going to be this way. I knew it," Calipari said. "[Kentucky's players] didn't, but I knew this was going to be a really hard game.
"Do you know why? They've got a really good coach and they've got really talented players that can break you down and go get baskets.
"What did they do? They broke us down and went and got baskets. We just happened to score more than them today."
The last time Kentucky gave up at least 102 points and won was on Feb. 21, 1970, when the Wildcats beat LSU 121-105 in Baton Rouge.
It was the most points Kentucky ever allowed in an SEC home victory.
Kentucky shot 56.7% (34 of 60) from the field, including 18 of 29 in the second half, and finished 9 of 20 on three-pointers.
Freshman guard Justin Edwards and Wagner each hit 4 of 5 three-pointers for the Wildcats.
Arkansas hit 27 of 28 free throws -- including 17 of 18 by Battle and 5 of 5 by senior forward Makhi Mitchell -- but Kentucky hit 34 of 42.
Kentucky attempted the most free throws by an Arkansas opponent this season. The previous high was by Texas A&M when the Aggies hit 25 of 39 in the Razorbacks' 78-71 victory at College Station, Texas, on Feb. 20.
"The 42 free throws attempted, really hard to overcome," Musselman said. "We went 27 of 28 from the foul line, had 10 steals, 13 assists and came away with the loss.
"But you're talking about a Kentucky team that can win a national championship."