How to Watch: Alabama Basketball vs. No. 5 Kentucky
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball’s rollercoaster season took another dip Tuesday as the Crimson Tide suffered a 100-81 loss at No. 1 Auburn, allowing the Tigers to complete the season sweep. The defeat came days after Alabama recorded perhaps its biggest win of the year in an 87-78 victory over then-No. 4 ranked Baylor over the weekend.
Alabama will now now face its third top-five opponent in as many games this weekend as No. 5 Kentucky travels to Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide swept the Wildcats last season, beating them 85-65 in Lexington, Ky., before recording a 70-59 win inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama has never beaten Kentcuky in three straight meetings since the two schools began playing in 1923.
Taming the Wildcats the weekend will be no small feat. Since opening up SEC play with a loss at LSU, Kentucky has won six of its last seven games with its only other SEC defeat coming on the road to Auburn.
Entering Wednesday, each member of the Wildcats’ starting lineup is averaging in double-digit scoring as Kentucky leads the SEC averaging 82.1 points per game. Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe leads the conference in field-goal percentage (61.5) and rebounds per game (15.1) while point guard Sahvir Wheeler is the leader in assists per game (6.9).
Here's everything you need to about Saturday’s matchup inside Coleman Coliseum.
How to Watch:
Who: Alabama (14-8, 4-5 SEC) vs. No. 5 Kentucky (17-4, 6-2)
When: 7 p.m. CT, Saturday
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: ESPN
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide gave up a season-high points total in a 100-81 defeat at Auburn. Alabama allowed Auburn to shoot 48.5% from the floor as the Tigers also got to the free-throw line 39 times, making 31 of their attempts. The Crimson Tide shot just 35.7% from the floor and was led by Jaden Shackelford, who scored a game-high 26 points while going 5 of 11 (45.45%) from beyond the arc.
Last time out, Auburn: The Wildcats recorded their best win of the season, beating then-No. 5 ranked Kansas 80-62 on the road. Kentucky was led by forward Keion Brooks Jr., who scored career-high 27 points while pulling in eight rebounds. The Wildcats will host Vanderbilt on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. before playing Alabama.
The series: This will be the 155th meeting between Alabama and Kentucky on the hardwood. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 114-40. The Crimson Tide holds a two-game winning streak after sweeping the Wildcats last year. Before that, the Wildcats won 12 of the previous 13 games between the two schools dating back to March 4, 2014.
