Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at Alabama
As Southeastern Conference play begins on Saturday, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was recently asked what his team learned about itself during the 13-game nonconference schedule.
“We’ve learned a lot,” Pope said. “We’re trying to evolve into the team that is going to get us to the highest ceiling. I think our guys are pretty resilient. I think they learned a lot about themselves. I think they learned a lot about who we want to be.”
Kentucky took its share of lumps while going 9-4 in the nonconference portion of the season. The Cats fell to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga, the latter of which really sparked something in this team, according to Pope.
“I think the Nashville debacle is something that touched us deep to our soul and kind of tested the resolve of this group,” he said. “And made us redefine who we were going to be as human beings and as a team.”
Since that game, the Cats have definitely played better. UK got a home win against Indiana with a big second half, then one week later, did the same against Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team in Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic. Pope loved how his team played in the second half in both of those games.
“I think Indiana and St John’s (games) with second halves that were elite level basketball in both cases, I think, confirmed some of the work that the guys had been doing and some of the direction we were going,” Pope said.
Now, the Cats turn their attention to SEC play, where they will open with a game at Alabama on Saturday.
“It’s obviously a great team,” Pope said. “They’re playing with wreckless abandon still. They’re playing with great pace, a terrific team, a well-coached team. So, we’ll have our hands full.”
Kentucky visits Alabama with momentum on its side. Pope and the Cats hope that they can continue their solid play against the Crimson Tide.
Know Your Opponent: Alabama
Kentucky opens SEC action on the road at Alabama on Saturday.
• Kentucky is 117-44 all-time against the Tide, including leading 31-27 when the game is played in Tuscaloosa
• Alabama won all three meetings a season ago, and has won six of the last nine matchups
• Saturday will mark the only regular-season matchup of the season between the two teams
• The highest-scoring game in the series, came in 2024 when Kentucky outlasted the Tide by a 117-95 score
• Dan Issel (47 on Feb. 23, 1970) owns the UK scoring record in the series, while Reginald King (38 on March 1, 1979) owns it for Bama
• Alabama enters the game with a 10-3 overall record, which includes wins over St. John’s, Illinois and Clemson
• The Tide have one of the most potent offenses in the country – ranking in the top five of KenPom’s metrics
League Lidlifters
Kentucky owns a 71-20 all-time mark in Southeastern Conference openers, including going 1-0 under Mark Pope.
• This will mark the first time since the 2018-19 season that UK will begin its SEC slate at Alabama
• The Cats fell by two in that contest, 77-75
• This marks just the second time in program history that UK will begin the SEC slate with a date vs. the Tide
Second-Half Surges
Kentucky used strong second halves to pick up two key wins over Indiana and St. John’s
• It marked the first time in program history that Kentucky has overcome halftime deficits of seven or more points in consecutive games
• Kentucky scored an average of 28.5 points in the first half of the two contests, upping that number to 46.5 points in the second half
• UK shot just 33.9 percent on average in the first half, but 49.2 percent in the second half
• Jaland Lowe averaged 11.0 second-half points in the games
• The Wildcats’ average turnover margin in the first halves was -2.0, but +7.0 in the second halves
