ESPN predicts the winner between the Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide

Will the Kentucky Wildcats be able to take down Alabama?

Jan 4, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope claps on the sideline before the game against the Florida Gators at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have won back-to-back top 15 games taking down Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The reality this season in the SEC is there are no brakes with how talented this league is, which makes sense knowing #4 Alabama is coming to Lexington of Saturday.

The Crimson Tide are coming off a 74-64 home loss to Ole Miss, which was Nate Oats's first loss of SEC play this season.

Alabama plays a similar style of basketball to the Kentucky Wildcats, which includes a lot of three-point shots. The best player for the Crimson Tide is veteran guard Mark Sears, who is averaging 18.6 points per game this season. Lamont Butler will draw the assignment of slowing Sears, which could make or break this game.

Another Alabama player to watch is Grant Nelson, who is a big guy who can dribble and shoot, similar to Kentucky's bigs. Andrew Carr will likely draw the assignment of Nelson, and the battle between these two will also have a significant impact on the game.

ESPN believes the Kentucky Wildcats will be able to get the win in Rupp Arena on Saturday as their matchup predictor gives the Wildcats a 52.4% chance to win.

This game is going to be a high-scoring affair, so the Wildcats need to shoot the ball well from deep to take down the Crimson Tide. A few games into SEC play, the Wildcats are still in the hunt to win the regular season title, and this game will have a big effect on that goal.