Bracketology 2024: Houston at Baylor highlights big power-conference games on Saturday

No. 13 Alabama (19-7, 11-2 in SEC) at No. 17 Kentucky (18-8, 8-5 in SEC), Saturday, February 24, 4:00 PM ET, CBS

There may not be a more dangerous offensive team in the country than Alabama, and true there may not be a more frustrating team given their talent in the country than Kentucky. The two will face off at Rupp Arena on Saturday. You want to talk about offensive firepower and helping your metrics, in their last seven wins the Crimson Tide have put up an average of 97 points. Their NET ranking has risen to 5th, and their strength of record is at 10th. This has put Alabama as a No. 3 seed with a climb up to a No. 2 seed well within reach.

Looking at the rest of their resume, the Tide have four road wins but just one comes in quad 1A. Looking at Alabama's resume a couple of things are keeping them short of being a two-seed right now, including a 3-6 record in quad 1 and no road wins higher than 36th in the NET.

Not many teams have gone into the jungle and handled Auburn the way Kentucky did on Saturday, and they did so by playing defense allowing just 59 points on 31% shooting. Whether this recent three-game stretch since the loss to Gonzaga is the Wildcats figuring out or is just an aberration will be answered Saturday in Tuscaloosa. A Wildcats' win, which they could use even more after Wednesday’s last-second loss to LSU, puts them in the conversation about protected seeds, but a loss adds them to the conglomeration of Jekyll and Hyde teams further down the seed list.

Their resume is solid but not without its blemishes. The biggest of which is the quad 3 loss to UNC-Wilmington and the 3-6 record they have in quad 1 games. Before beating Auburn the road win at Florida, which continues to age well was the Wildcats’ best win since before Christmas. A win over Alabama would pair well with the neutral-court win over North Carolina.