Kentucky prepares for 'elite' pace, 'really special' offensive rebounding effort in Alabama

Can Kentucky turn five into six? We won’t have to wait long to find out, the Wildcats taking a 5-0 start against top-15 competition into yet another ranked battle, this time with No. 4 Alabama coming to town — the highest-ranked opponent on the schedule thus far. It’s also the top scoring offense in college basketball and a top-three rebounding team in college basketball and a top-ten team in both free-throw and three-point attempts in college basketball.

You get the idea. A tough opponent in a league schedule of nothing but tough opponents, this one just a bit better than some of the other tough opponents. Oh, and they’re led by a tough coach coming off the program’s first Final Four in history.

“What Nate (Oats) has done at Alabama has been incredible, right?” Mark Pope said Thursday. “They had an all-time great season last year, their program is in a great position and they’re playing a fun style of basketball. They’re playing great basketball.”

It’s been another impressive start for the Crimson Tide, starting the season 14-3 with nine combined wins between Quad 1 and 2 competition, five being ranked opponents. They are, however, coming off a ten-point home loss to No. 21 Ole Miss — their first black eye of SEC play.

It’s the 17-game sample size Pope is focused on, though, not the recent slip-up. If anything, that loss will only have Alabama more fired up coming into Rupp Arena.

The Wildcats are preparing accordingly.

“They’re really tough to prepare for. Listen, every team in this league is impossible to prepare for, everyone is so good,” Pope said. “This is essentially our third straight top-10 team at home for the first time ever. Everyone is really good and they pose different challenges. Alabama right now is — of course they’ve always been so potent demanding that you guard space. Their pace is elite. The metrics change almost every day, but they’re one of the fastest-playing teams in the country.”

Spend too long celebrating in the heat of battle against this team and they’ll score on you before you blink. The Tide have the No. 2 adjusted tempo in the country and the No. 7 offense ready to make you pay if you’re not engaged for every second for 40 minutes.

“When you break down their possession usage, in the first six seconds and second six seconds of the shot clock after makes, that’s when they punish you,” Pope continued. “It’s one of those games where if you’re not careful, you’re going to make a big-time play and all your guys will be celebrating and the cameras will be focused on your guy, then they’re going to come back to your guys and they have the ball again because Alabama has already gone and scored, right?”

Oh, and they’ve got the reigning SEC Player of the Year leading the charge, Mark Sears currently averaging 18.6 points, 4.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 32.6 minutes per contest in his final season of eligibility. Combine that with the fact the Tide are the best offensive rebounding team in the nation since the turn of the year while ranked in the top-15 in all categories on the glass overall — No. 2 in defensive rebounding, No. 3 in rebounding margin and No. 14 in offensive rebounding — and Kentucky’s undoubtedly got its hands full on Saturday.

“Their transition offense is incredible, their spacing is incredible, they’ve got the presumptive Player of the Year in the league (in Mark Sears),” Pope said. “In the last five games, they’ve been the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country, which is so great, isn’t it? We just went to Mississippi State and they were the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country for a reason, and now we get the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the last five games.

“They’re a terrific team, obviously, they’re incredibly well-coached, and they’re veteran, veteran guys. It’s gonna be fun.”

Is it easier to prepare for knowing the Wildcats are no slouches offensively — they’re actually ranked ahead of the Tide in offensive efficiency at No. 2 overall — or more challenging? Pope sees both sides of it, understanding there are clear overlaps in terms of big-picture philosophies like shot volume and pace, but also challenging differences in terms of team identity.

To put it simply, it won’t be easy, no matter the surface-level similarities.

“A little bit of both. Certainly their usage of the three-point line is really heavy. I think they’re No. 3 in the country, actually, in two-point field goal percentage, two or three. They’re really, really effective at the rim, and their volume from the three-point line is intense,” Pope said. “They haven’t shot it great, but their volume is always scary. On the night they’re making shots, it’s a long night for their opponent, for sure. But really, for me, it’s their pace, and (effort) on the offensive glass right now, that’s just been remarkable. Their concerted effort on the offensive glass has been really special.”

They answered the bell at Mississippi State and vs. Texas A&M. Can they keep it up against their highest-ranked opponent up to this point?