Kentucky vs. Alabama: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
TV schedule: Tuesday, January 26, 7:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuesday night’s game between Alabama and Kentucky will be the second meeting between these teams in a two week period. On January 12th, Alabama blew Kentucky out of Rupp Arena with a staggering 85-65 victory. Kentucky has become accustomed to losing this season, something that John Calipari is not used to.
Calipari’s Kentucky teams have won the SEC Championship 4 of the last 5 years and six times in total since he took over as the head coach in 2009. They will assuredly not be winning this year and the current favorite for that SEC crown is Alabama who currently holds an 8-0 record in conference.
For Tuesday’s game, Alabama is simply not a good matchup for Kentucky. Kentucky’s inexperienced, young guards are no match for the Tide’s defense, a team that is averaging 8.9 steals per game, which is second in the SEC. The majority of those turnovers are forced by the long, athletic perimeter players for Alabama who will cause nightmares for the Wildcat freshman.
On the other side of the ball, the Crimson Tide offense is extremely balanced and unselfish. The leading scorer on the season, senior guard John Petty Jr., is averaging less than 15 points a game. This team understands its’ identity very well and when they play hard defense and share the ball on offense, they are a dangerous team that has the potential to make some noise in March.
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Similar to the prior meeting, I believe this game will be dominated and won by the frontcourt. Alabama’s starting guards accounted for 53 points in the first meeting and I would not be surprised if they exceed that point total in this upcoming game. Expect this to be another blowout with the Tide solidifying their case as a legitimate contender.
Prediction: Alabama 75, Kentucky 59