First Scouting Report: Is Kentucky primed to score a payback win at Alabama?
A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 5 Kentucky (18-4, 7-2 SEC) will face Alabama (14-8, 4-5 SEC) on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum (seating capacity 15,316) on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa:
The SEC game will tip off at 8 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.
Coach Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide lost at No. 1 Auburn 100-81 Tuesday night.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Alabama 114-40 but the Crimson Tide have won two straight and three of the past five.
Most recent meeting
Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford had 21 points and five rebounds and forward Herbert Jones just missed a triple-double with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the No. 9 Crimson Tide rallied late to beat Kentucky 70-59 on Jan. 26, 2021, at Coleman Coliseum.
Power rankings
Through Tuesday’s games, the NCAA’s NET Rankings had Kentucky No. 7 and Alabama No. 22.
The Kenpom Rankings rated UK No. 2 and Alabama No. 18.
Kentucky stood No. 7 in the Sagarin Ratings with Alabama No. 20.
Know your foe
1. Alabama beat Kentucky twice last season, winning the tight one in Tuscaloosa (see above) only weeks after hanging an 85-65 pummeling on the Wildcats in Rupp Arena.
The two Crimson Tide victories over the Cats made Nate Oats the first Crimson Tide head coach to beat the Wildcats twice in a regular season since Wimp Sanderson did it in 1988-89.
Oats also became the first SEC coach to beat Kentucky twice during the regular season since Florida’s Mike White and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes each pinned a pair of losses on the Cats in 2017-18 (Barnes beat UK twice in 2018-19, too, but one of those victories came in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament).
Overall, Oats is 2-2 vs. UK.
Oats lost to the Wildcats 95-75 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament round of 32 while head man at Buffalo and 76-67 in Rupp Arena in 2019-20, his first season as Alabama head man.
2. Alabama in 2021-22 has been the ultimate “play to the level of your opponent” team.
On the plus side, the Crimson Tide have victories over three of last season’s Final Four — beating then-No. 3 Gonzaga 91-82 on Dec. 3 in Seattle; then-No. 11 Houston 83-82 in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 11; and defending national champion and then-No. 4 Baylor 87-78 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge last Saturday.
Alabama also has SEC wins over then-No. 14 Tennessee, 73-68 on Dec. 29, and then-No. 13 LSU, 70-67 on Jan. 19, both in Tuscaloosa.
However, Bama also has taken defeats at struggling teams Memphis, 92-78, on Dec. 14; Missouri, 92-86, on Jan. 8; and Georgia, 82-76, on Jan. 25.
The Tide has also lost to two mid-major foes, albeit strong ones, in Iona, 72-68, on Nov. 25 in Orlando; and Davidson, 79-78, Dec. 21, in Birmingham.
3. Veteran guards Jaden Shackelford, Jahvon Quinerly and Keon Ellis play the leading roles for Alabama.
Shackleford, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior, is Bama’s leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and making 37.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
A transfer from Villanova, the 6-1, 175-pound Quinerly, a junior, is averaging 14.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg and a team-high 4.3 assists.
The 6-6, 175-pound Ellis, a senior, is averaging 12 ppg, 6.2 rpg and making 35.3 percent of his three-point tries.
