Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Alabama: TV/Streaming Info, Preview, and Betting Odds/PredictionsMen’s Basketball

Published

3 months ago

January 17, 2025

Kentucky guard Otega Oweh goes up for a dunk against Texas A&M.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Riding high and looking to break back into the AP top five, the Kentucky Wildcats will play host to the Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday in Rupp Arena.

Game time is set for 12 PM ET on ESPN for what should be the biggest matchup of the week in college basketball. This is also the first of two battles between two of the three highest-scoring offenses in the country.

The Wildcats are coming off a double-digit win over the Texas A&M Aggies, giving them their fifth top-15 win on the season, the most in the country.

Alabama, ranked fourth in the country, will give the Cats an opportunity to add to that total. However, coming off a double-digit loss to Ole Miss at home, the Crimson Tide will be motivated to rebound from a loss. They’ve already done that twice this season against ranked opponents (at the time) in Illinois and North Carolina, winning those games by an average margin of 19 points.

Picked to win the SEC in the preseason, Alabama is tied with Kentucky in the standings at 3-1. Whichever team can win will get a big boost in the standings early in the SEC schedule, especially with top teams Florida and Tennessee already suffering defeats, while conference favorite Auburn is without Johni Broome for the foreseeable future.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Battle of the Boards

By average, Alabama is the second-best rebounding team in the nation, excelling on the offensive boards. In their 17 games this season, Alabama has been outrebounded just once. That happened back in November in their loss to Illinois, where they were outrebounded by seven, that came in part because the Tide didn’t miss often in that 100-87 beating.

What’s promising for the Wildcats is they’ve beaten the two best offensive rebounding teams in the country in the last tw40-30 for the game.

The boards will be THE priority for both teams. Kentucky must send all five players to the glass, limiting Alabama to just one shot and avoiding momentum-swinging buckets.

The Tide have had a tendency to give their opponents offensive rebounds this season, even more so than Kentucky. That is an area they could take advantage of.

Capitalize on Free Throws and Turnovers

Alabama’s two most significant weaknesses are troubles with turnovers and defending without fouling.

On the season, Alabama averages more than 13 turnovers per game. That is the third-highest mark in the SEC.

Against Ole Miss, that problem was at its worst as they turned the ball over 21 times, a season-high, playing a large part in a field-goal attempt deficit of 23 shots. Many of these were forced with ball pressure, especially on drives, leading to errant passes that were intercepted.

If Kentucky can recreate similar intensity, they can turn Alabama’s possessions into their possessions. This will give their offense more scoring opportunities but fewer for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama also fouls a lot. Fouling their opponents 19 times per game on the season, that number has been even higher in SEC play, committing nearly 21 fouls per game. This gives their opponents nearly 27 free throws per game in four SEC games.

Kentucky has been inconsistent at the line this season, shooting as low as 57.9% against Mississippi State on 19 attempts and as high as 84.4% against Ohio State on 32 attempts.

The Wildcats, who converted 24/31 free throws (77.4%) vs. Texas A&M, need to take advantage of the charity stripe in what is expected to be a close game.

Drive-and-Kick

Alabama is ranked 32nd in defensive efficiency, much better than Kentucky’s 75th-place mark. That said, the Crimson Tide are susceptible to straight-line drives at times.

Lamont Butler has not been at his best at finishing in recent games, but his quick first step and aggressiveness should allow him to get into the paint, drawing attention and leaving shooters open.

The same could be said for Otega Oweh and Jaxson Robinson. One of the key moments in Kentucky’s win over Texas A&M was Robinson driving to the rim and finding an open Travis Perry for 3 that gave Kentucky some much-needed separation in the second half after only leading 35-32 at halftime.

It’s also worth pointing out that Butler was injured several times in the win over Texas A&M, including what looked to be a shoulder injury that flared up several more times. It will be interesting to see what his status is when the SEC injury report becomes available Friday night.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Mark Sears 6-1, 190 lbs

18.6 PPG (3rd in SEC)

4.5 APG (5th in SEC)
35.7% 3P

Two-time All-SEC selection

F Grant Nelson 6-11, 230 lbs

12.2 PPG
8.6 RPG (T-3rd in SEC)

52.6% FG

G Labaron Philon 6-4, 177 lbs

12.1 PPG
4.0 APG

51.4% FG
2.4 Assist/Turnover Ratio (8th in SEC)

Kentucky Basketball vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Time: 12 PM ET on January 18th

Location: Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas

Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).

Rosters: UK | BAMA
Stats to Know: UK | BAMA
KenPom: UK | BAMA

Team Sheet: UK | BAMA

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, so check back on Friday for that. BartTorvik and KenPom give Kentucky a slight advantage, at 53% and 55%, respectively. ESPN gives the home team a 52.5% chance of winning. EvanMiya gives the Wildcats just a 37.7% chance of winning.
Predictions: BartTorvik (93-92) and KenPom (90-88) go with one-score Kentucky wins. EvanMiya (90-87) and Haslametrics (91-90) project a one-score loss for the Cats. I think Kentucky matches up fairly well, though the Crimson Tide do have an athleticism advantage. That said, given the home-court advantage, I’m going with a 93-88 victory, Kentucky!

Send us your Kentucky vs. Alabama score predictions in the comments section!

And Go CATS!

Also posted on a Sea of Blue.

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

18 hours ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.