– including Josh Carrier and Chuck Hayes senior quotes
NEWS:
No. 5/5 Kentucky Wildcats (21-3, 12-1 SEC)
vs.
No. 16/14 Alabama Crimson Tide (21-5, 10-3 SEC)
Sun., Feb. 26 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: CBS
After claiming a share of the SEC Eastern Division title with an 81-73 win over Auburn Wednesday, the Kentucky Wildcats travel to hostile Coleman Coliseum looking for their 43rd SEC regular-season title.
A victory over the Crimson Tide would put Kentucky at 13-1 in conference play and give them sole possession of the title. An Alabama victory would keep the Tide in contention for the title, but Kentucky would have to lose the rest of its games to not earn at least a share of the crown.
Kentucky has already earned a first-round bye in next month?s SEC Tournament. Since the league split into divisions in 1992, the Wildcats have earned a bye in the tournament each year, never playing the event?s opening day.
Scouting the Crimson Tide
No. 16/14 Alabama dropped to 10-3 in conference action after a buzzer-beating tip-in by LSU?s Ross Neltner gave the Tigers a 61-59 win over the Tide in Baton Rouge Tuesday. A victory would have guaranteed the Tide the outright SEC West title, but now they must contend with LSU, who sits at 9-4 in SEC play.
The Tide is 21-5 overall this season, winning 10 of its last 12 games. The loss at LSU snapped a four-game win streak for UA. Kennedy Winston leads the team in scoring with 17.7 points to go with 5.3 rebounds, while Earnest Shelton adds 16.5 ppg and Chuck Davis contributes 14.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Fellow starter Jermareo Davidson leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 boards a game.
Mark Gottfried is in his seventh season at Alabama, holding a 140-79 record. His career record is 208-104 after three seasons at Murray State.
Series History
This marks the 127th meeting between Kentucky and Alabama, with the Wildcats holding a 93-33 advantage. The teams have met 46 times in Tuscaloosa, where UK holds a narrow 26-20 advantage. The Cats are 15-14 against Alabama in Coleman Coliseum.
Kentucky has won three of the last five meetings and two in a row.
Tubby Smith is 7-3 against the Tide, including a 5-3 mark at UK.
Mark Gottfried is 3-3 against the Cats as a head coach. As a student-athlete for the Tide in the mid-80s, his Alabama teams were 2-6 against Kentucky.
Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Notes F 44 Chuck Hayes 6-6 242 Sr. 10.8 8.5 Double figures in five of last six F 24 Kelenna Azubuike 6-5 208 Jr. 14.9 5.0 CH 30 pts, 11 rebs vs. Auburn C 33 Randolph Morris 6-10 266 Fr. 8.9 3.9 Double figures in last three games G 4 Rajon Rondo 6-1 171 Fr. 8.3 *3.1 9 assts, 10 steals in last two G 22 Patrick Sparks 6-0 180 Jr. 11.0 *4.0 9-of-30 from three in last five ALABAMA Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Notes F 1 Chuck Davis 6-7 230 Jr. 14.3 7.0 Leads team with 50 blocks F 3 Kennedy Winston 6-6 205 Jr. 17.7 5.3 22 pts, 6 rebs vs. LSU F 33 Jermareo Davidson 6-10 210 So. 8.2 8.0 Shooting 59.1% FGs on season G 5 Earnest Shelton 6-3 200 Sr. 16.5 3.3 Second in league in 3FG made G 22 Ronald Steele 6-2 185 Fr. 7.7 *5.1 Ranks 2nd in SEC in assists *assists per game
Location: (15,316)
TV: – Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner
Radio: –
Online Coverage:
Alabama Crimson Tide Information
