How Kentucky matches up vs. No. 14 Alabama — with a game prediction
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Alabama holds edge overall with stronger frontcourt and rim protection.
- Kentucky posts perimeter threats but struggles in true road games and against ranked foes.
- Prediction: Alabama 89, Kentucky 79, projecting Tide’s recent success vs. UK continues
How the Kentucky Wildcats (9-4, 0-0 SEC) and the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3, 0-0 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s men’s college basketball SEC opener — with a game prediction:
Small forward
• Kentucky’s Collin Chandler (9.2 points, 3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 43.5% FGs, 39.3% treys) entered the holiday break in a shooting slump. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, has made only 7 of 26 shots, 3 of 18 3-point attempts, in UK’s past five games. In 13 minutes of playing time in the Wildcats’ 96-83 loss at Alabama last season, Chandler hit 2 of 3 shots, scored five points and fouled out.
• Alabama’s Houston Mallette (8.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 34.8% 3-point shooting) hit 4 of 9 3-point tries and had 12 points in Bama’s 102-78 blowout of Yale Monday night. A 6-5, 202-pound redshirt senior from Alameda, California, who began his college career at Pepperdine, Mallette has scored in double figures in two of the Crimson Tide’s past three games.
Advantage: Even
Power forward
• The trip to Tuscaloosa will be a homecoming for Kentucky junior Mouhamed Dioubate (12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 64.4% field goals) — who played his first two college seasons for Alabama. The 6-7, 220-pound product of Queens, New York, turned in a strong performance in UK’s 99-85 win over Bellarmine on Dec. 23, scoring 20 points with five rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Dioubate has a history of playing well in UK-Bama games. In four contests for the Crimson Tide vs. the Wildcats, he averaged 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds and hit 14 of 21 shots.
• Alabama’s Taylor Bol Bowen (9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 34.1% treys) scored in double figures in six of his first eight games this season. However, the 6-10, 202-pound junior from Jericho, Vermont, has gone his past four games without reaching double digits and has made only 7 of 22 field-goal tries in those contests. A transfer from Florida State, Bol Bowen did contribute nine rebounds to Bama’s win over Yale.
Advantage: Kentucky
Center
• Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno (9.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 61.4% FGs) was an unsung hero of the Wildcats’ 78-66 upset of then-No. 22 St. John’s in the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 20. The 7-foot, 250-pound product of Great Crossing High School in Georgetown hit 4 of 6 shots and had eight points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots vs. Rick Pitino’s Red Storm.
• Alabama sophomore Aiden Sherrell (9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 53.1% FGs) is one of the premier rim protectors in NCAA Division I hoops. The 6-11, 255-pound Detroit product has blocked 37 shots, tied for seventh in the country. Over Alabama’s past two games, Sherrell is averaging 15 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
Advantage: Alabama
Shooting guard
• Kentucky senior Otega Oweh (team-best 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 45.9% FGs) flirted with a triple-double in the win over Bellarmine, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. The 6-4, 220-pound senior scored 21 points with six rebounds and three assists in the first of last season’s three UK-Bama meetings, a 102-97 Crimson Tide win at Rupp Arena. However, Oweh went a combined 2 of 15 on shot attempts and scored a total of 10 points in Kentucky’s blowout losses to Alabama in Tuscaloosa (96-83) and in the SEC Tournament (99-70).
• Alabama’s Aden Holloway (17.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4 assists, 44% treys) is averaging 22.3 points over the Crimson Tide’s past three games. In four previous contests against Kentucky — one in which he played for Auburn and three for Alabama — Holloway, a 6-1, 180-pound junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, has made 9 of 23 3-point attempts and averaged 10.5 points.
Advantage: Even
Point guard
• Kentucky senior Denzel Aberdeen (11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists) found his jump shot in the win over Bellarmine, draining 4 of 7 treys en route to 14 points. He had been 2 of 12 from behind the arc in UK’s previous five games. The 6-5, 195-pound transfer from Florida has ample experience facing Alabama. In his Gators days, Aberdeen went against the Crimson Tide six times, winning four, and hit 45.8% of his shots while averaging 5.2 points.
• Alabama sophomore Labaron Philon (21.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 54% FGs, 41.7% treys) is playing at an All-America level. However, the 6-4, 185-pound product of Mobile, Alabama, sat out the Tide’s win over Yale on Monday night due to a left leg contusion. “I think it’s pretty likely he plays Saturday (vs. UK), but I don’t want to say for sure,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said following the contest. Last season vs. Kentucky, Philon averaged 14.3 points and hit 15 of 30 shots.
Advantage: Alabama
Bench
• Kentucky junior point guard Jaland Lowe (7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists) sparked the Wildcats to comeback wins over Indiana and St. John’s by averaging 13 points, four rebounds and 2.5 assists. UK subsequently held the 6-2, 170-pound Lowe out of the Bellarmine game to protect the injured right shoulder that has caused the Pittsburgh transfer to miss seven games so far this season. ... Sophomore center Jayden Quaintance is averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds and shooting 66.7% in the two games he has played since returning from a torn ACL. The 6-10, 255-pound Cleveland product has also blocked two shots. ... Sophomore wing Kam Williams (6.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 35.4% treys) lit up Bellarmine, making 8 of 10 3-point shots en route to a career-high 26 points. ... Junior big man Brandon Garrison (5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 57.1% FGs) played well in the first two games vs. Alabama last season, averaging 9.5 points and five rebounds. ... Freshman guard Jasper Johnson (7.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists) had Alabama as one of his recruiting finalists.
• Alabama freshman Amari Allen was “only” the 74th rated prospect in the Class of 2025 in the Rivals Industry Top Basketball Recruits ranking. Yet Allen, a 6-8, 205-pound product of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is performing at a freshman All-America level, averaging 10.8 points, a team-high 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. ... Super-senior Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 34% FGs, 27.4% treys), a 6-3, 195-pound guard, has returned from a torn Achilles tendon that ended his 2024-25 season after eight games. ... Sophomore wing Jalil Bethea (9.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 45.5% treys), a 6-5, 190-pound Philadelphia product, has averaged 13 points over Bama’s past two games. ... Freshman forward London Jemison, a 6-8, 205-pound product of Bloomfield, Connecticut, is averaging 7.3 points and has made 60.5% of his shots overall and 44% of his 3-point tries. ... A transfer from Bucknell, 7-foot, 255-pound center Noah Williamson (1.0 points, 1.4 rebounds) has struggled to make shots. He is hitting 18.8% of his field-goal attempts and 18.2% of his 3-point shots.
Advantage: Even
Trends and history
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Alabama 117-44, but the Crimson Tide have won four of the past five meetings and six of the past nine.
• Mark Pope is 0-3 as UK head man vs. Alabama.
• Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats is 6-5 vs. Kentucky overall and 6-4 as Alabama head man.
• Alabama is 5-1 in home games this season and is 81-16 at Coleman Coliseum under Nate Oats (since 2019-20).
• Under Mark Pope, Kentucky is 4-7 in true road games.
• Going back to UK’s 102-97 loss to then-No. 4 Alabama last season at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats are 4-10 vs. opponents ranked in the AP Top 25.
Advantage: Alabama
Prediction
Alabama 89, Kentucky 79
