Kentucky men’s basketball: Get updates, live stats from SEC opener at Alabama

So far this season, the Kentucky men’s basketball team has made quick work of undercards and struggled in main events.

And starting Saturday, the Wildcats are through with tuneups.

Kentucky (9-4) opens SEC play against No. 14 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where the Cats will get another crack at a ranked opponent. UK is 1-4 this season against teams in The Associated Press Top 25 at the time of the game.

The Cats went 2-4 against power-conference opponents in the nonconference portion of the schedule but won their final two games against high-level competition, beating Indiana and St. John’s on consecutive Saturdays in December.

But the Crimson Tide (10-3) pose a challenge more like those the Cats failed against Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga. Alabama is ranked 15th at KenPom.com and all three of its losses — to Purdue, Gonzaga and Arizona — have come against teams currently ranked in the AP top 10.

According to the KenPom rankings, Alabama is the second-most-efficient offense in the nation, behind only Purdue.

The Cats and Tide tip off at noon Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. The game will air on ESPN, and you can follow live news updates and stats in the chat below, where Herald-Leader men’s basketball beat writer Ben Roberts and sports columnist Mark Story will provide updates and answer your questions from on site in Tuscaloosa.