The Alabama Crimson Tide is back on the road after dropping its first home game of the season and heads up to Rupp Arena to face off against Kentucky in a top-10 matchup. Read more for an Alabama vs Kentucky prediction and preview.
Alabama basketball is coming off its worst performance on the offensive end of the season thus far after a 74-64 defeat and looks to bounce back on the road. In the last two seasons, Alabama head coach Nate Oats is 10-0 after double-digit losses.Â
“We are going to have to find a way to dig ourselves out of a hole with a much better showing against Kentucky,” said Oats.
Game Information:
Teams:Â Alabama (14-3, 3-1) and Kentucky (14-3, 3-1)
Tip-Off: Â 11 a.m. CST ( noon EST)
Where to Watch:Â ESPN
How to Listen:Â Tide 100.9
Latest on Kentucky Basketball:
The Kentucky Wildcats are entering year one under Mark Pope, who also played for the Wildcats in 1994-1996, and are off to a 14-3 start. The roster is not built like the usual Kentucky roster with tons of transfer veterans mixed in with freshmen.
So far this season, Kentucky’s marquee victories in non-conference play came in a close 77-72 win over Duke and a 90-89 win over Gonzaga in overtime. Â So far in SEC play, it has beaten Florida, lost to Georgia, beat Mississippi State, and most recently, Texas A&M in an 81-69 win where BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson had 22 points and Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr had 13 points.
The Wildcats have five guys who average double figures: Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Robinson, Carr, and three-point specialist Kobe Brea from Dayton.
 This season, Oweh leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.4 PPG. The Drexel transfer leads the Cats on glass, averaging 8.6 RPG as a 7″0 anchor down low. Butler leads the team, averaging 4.7 APG.
Per KenPom, the Wildcats are ranked 2nd in offensive efficiency numbers and just outside the top 75 Â at 76th in defensive efficiency. The team is the fifth-ranked team in its conference in the rankings by the numbers. The team averages around 88.7 PPG and shoots 36.5% from the three-point line.
Last year, Kentucky finished were 23-10 (13-5 in conference play) with a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament to Oakland.
Latest on Alabama Basketball:
Alabama is coming off a performance where it put up a season-low in points with 64 and had a season-high in turnovers with 21 in a game where it could not get any flow going with its effort levels low. Aden Holloway scored 15 points on an efficient night.
Derrion Reid is questionable for tomorrow after missing the Ole Miss game.
“If he’s not able to go tomorrow, hopefully next week,” said Oats.
Sears continues to lead the team in scoring and is up to 18.6 PPG on the season, trending downward after the last game, finishing with only 11. Grant Nelson continues to be a force around the glass in the rebounding department and leads the team in averaging 8.6 RPG. Sears leads the team in assists at 4.5 APG, whereas the team averages 17.1 APG.
Per KenPom, Alabama is in the top 10 in offensive efficiency at 7, dropping five spots since last game and defensively, with an efficiency ranking of 33, up six spots from the last game. Alabama is averaging 89.5 PPG while shooting 32.0% from three.Â
Alabama vs Kentucky prediction: Wildcats by 5
Alabama will be in for another challenge, but the home-court advantage of Rupp Arena will be too much for the Tide in a shootout that might hit the triple digits.
[…] basketball went into Rupp and beats Kentucky 102-97 with its third 100-point game vs. an AP-ranked team this season, which is the most since 1948-49. […]