No. 17 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Alabama: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

For the third and final time this season, Kentucky will face a repeat opponent. The Wildcats won both rematch battles against Tennessee and Vanderbilt — the former a sweep — but can they take care of business on the road at No. 4 Alabama? It won’t be easy, certainly not if Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson can’t give it a go. They combined for 28 points in the first matchup back in January and the Crimson Tide still pulled out the 102-97 win. Who steps up? Can Mark Pope earn his eighth top-15 win of the season while keeping UK in contention for a bye in the SEC Tournament?

We’re about to find out what this team is made of down in Tuscaloosa. KSR has everything you need to know about the matchup.

Kentucky vs. Alabama: How to Watch, Listen

• Date, Time: Saturday, 6:00 p.m. EST
• Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Dick Vitale)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 (UA Radio) or 191 (UK Radio)
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 17

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
• 1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/28: 78-73 W at No. 8 Tennessee
• 2/1: 89-79 L vs. Arkansas
• 2/4: 98-84 L at No. 25 Ole Miss
• 2/8: 80-57 W vs. South Carolina
• 2/11: 75-64 W vs. No. 5 Tennessee
• 2/15: 82-78 L at Texas
• 2/19: 82-61 W vs. Vanderbilt

Alabama: KenPom 6

• 11/4: 110-54 W vs. UNC Asheville
• 11/8: 88-79 W vs. Arkansas State
• 11/11: 72-64 W vs. McNeese State
• 11/15: 87-78 L at Purdue
• 11/20: 100-87 W vs. No. 25 Illinois
• 11/26: 85-80 OT W vs. No. 6 Houston
• 11/27: 95-90 W vs. Rutgers
• 11/30: 83-81 L vs. Oregon
• 12/4: 94-79 W at No. 20 North Carolina
• 12/14: 83-75 W vs. Creighton
• 12/18: 97-90 W at North Dakota
• 12/22: 81-54 W vs. Kent State
• 12/29: 105-82 W vs. South Dakota State
• 1/4: 107-79 W vs. No. 12 Oklahoma
• 1/8: 88-68 W at South Carolina
• 1/11: 94-88 W at No. 10 Texas A&M
• 1/14: 74-64 L vs. No. 21 Ole Miss
• 1/18: 102-97 W at No. 8 Kentucky
• 1/21: 103-87 W vs. Vanderbilt
• 1/25: 80-73 W vs. LSU
• 1/29: 88-84 W at Mississippi State
• 2/1: 90-69 W vs. Georgia
• 2/8: 85-81 W at Arkansas
• 2/11: 103-80 W at Texas
• 2/15: 94-85 L vs. No. 1 Auburn
• 2/19: 110-98 L at No. 15 Missouri

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 117-42 including a 32-26 record on the road at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won the previous matchup this season 102-97 with Grant Nelson leading the way with a season-high 25 points, followed by Mark Sears with 24. For the Wildcats, Otega Oweh scored 21 to lead the team, followed by Lamont Butler with 17. Seven different players scored in double figures with Amari Williams (13), Brandon Garrison (11), Jaxson Robinson (11), Ansley Almonor (10) and Koby Brea (10) rounding out the group.

Nate Oats, in his sixth season at Alabama, is 4-5 against the Wildcats overall including his time at Buffalo while Mark Pope is set to take on the Crimson Tide for the second time looking for his first win.

Kentucky vs. Alabama Odds

Spread: Alabama -7.5
Total: 177.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for Alabama, the former going with a 94-89 victory and the latter rolling with a 98-89 final score. ESPN’s BPI likes the Tide by 5.4 points while giving the home team a 70.4 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#11 – Travis Perry
6-1 – 188 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
2.3 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.5 APG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG

#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
9.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.9 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.9 APG

Alabama Projected Starters

#1 – Mark Sears
6-1 – 190 – GUARD – SENIOR
18.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.8 APG

#0 – Labaron Philon
6-4 – 177 – GUARD – FRESHMAN
10.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.5 APG

#8 – Chris Youngblood
6-4 – 223 – GUARD – SENIOR
9.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.9 APG

#4 – Grant Nelson
6-11 – 230 – FORWARD – SENIOR
12.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG

#11 – Cliff Omoruyi
6-11 – 250 – CENTER – SENIOR
7.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 BPG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:

• Otega Oweh is the only player in the SEC to reach double-figure scoring in every game this season and one of 10 players in Division I to do so. He’s the first player since Malik Monk to hit the mark in 26 straight games.
• A win over Alabama would tie Kentucky for the most regular-season wins against AP Top 10 and Top 15 teams all-time among any program. UK owns five top-10 wins and seven top-15 wins already.
• Amari Williams is averaging 40.8 PAR per 40 minutes, the fifth-most in Division I. That total is the third-most by a UK player dating back to 1996-97 and sixth-highest by an SEC player during that same time span
• Kentucky is giving up just 66.0 points per game over the last four games and allowing opponents to shoot just 19.3 percent from three. They’ve jumped from No. 112 to No. 69 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings since the loss at Ole Miss.

Pregame Storylines

INJURY ISSUES CONTINUE FOR THE CATS

Kentucky has played just seven games at full strength this season with Kerr Kriisa missing every game since Dec. 11 and Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Andrew Carr also missing time. Going into the Alabama matchup, both Butler and Robinson have missed each of the last two games with the latter missing three straight, dealing with shoulder and wrist injuries, respectively. Mark Pope said Butler has returned to practice while Robinson has begun skill work as he works toward a return, but in the meantime, Travis Perry, Collin Chandler and Trent Noah will have to continue playing in expanded roles for the Wildcats.

A BATTLE OF OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS

Last time around, it was the No. 1 scoring offense in Alabama vs. the No. 3 scoring offense in Kentucky going at it in Lexington. That led to a combined 199 points with the Crimson Tide edging out the Wildcats 102-97. It’s still No. 1 vs. No. 3 this go-round with the Tide ranked No. 3 in offensive efficiency and the Cats not far behind at No. 5. Both teams rank inside the top 40 in tempo, too, while also bringing in five players averaging double-figure scoring, along with a sixth adding 9.5 points per contest. This will be another uptempo matchup featuring plenty of scoring and shooting. Under bettors beware.

SLOWING DOWN MARK SEARS

Every conversation about Alabama must include Mark Sears, who is averaging 18.5 points per game on 41/35/83 splits to go with a career-high 4.8 assists per contest. He’s coming off a 35-point performance at No. 15 Missouri and has scored in double figures all but twice this season, including a 24-point performance in the win at Kentucky back on January 18. The reigning SEC Player of the Year is back for one final season in Tuscaloosa and is making the most of it as one of the league’s top superstars.

REVENGE FOR ANDREW CARR VS. GRANT NELSON

Carr looked like himself again against Vanderbilt after fighting through a lingering back issue since the start of SEC play. It comes ahead of the Alabama rematch he’s had circled on the calendar after putting forth arguably his worst outing at Kentucky in the first head-to-head — four points on 1-4 shooting in 18 minutes. On the other end, his matchup, Grant Nelson, went for a season-high 25 points while adding 11 rebounds and two steals. When Carr was at his worst, Nelson was at his best. He’s looking forward to another shot at the Tide after things did not go his way back in January. “Just as a competitor, we’re looking forward to getting another shot at a team like that, for sure,” he said.

ALABAMA IS ON A TWO-GAME LOSING STREAK

The Crimson Tide were coming off a double-digit home loss to Ole Miss immediately before traveling to Lexington last month. Nate Oats called it a ‘disaster’ and promised ‘we’re gonna find a way to dig ourselves out of that hole’ against Kentucky. This time around, Alabama is on a two-game losing streak, falling at home vs. No. 1 Auburn, followed by a road loss at No. 15 Missouri. In that stretch, the Tide have given up 204 points while falling to No. 340 nationally in scoring defense after allowing 110 in their most recent loss. They’re filling it up offensively, but defensively, they’re a disaster right now.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Coleman Coliseum while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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