Kentucky basketball is no stranger to top 15 matchups this season, and on Saturday they will be playing their third-straight top 15 game at home this season, th

“Alabama right now is, of course, they’ve always been so potent, demanding shooting guards’ space, their pace is elite, ” Pope said. “I don’t know if the metrics change every but they are one of the fastest-playing teams in the country.”

Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope previews the game against the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, at Rupp Arena in Lexington. UK is ranked 8th. Both teams are 14-3 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have won back-to-back top 15 games taking down Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The reality this season in the SEC is there

First, it was the No. 14 team in the country on the road. Then, it was the No. 11 team in the country at home. Now, it’s the No. 4 team in the country at home, the longest streak of top-15 opponents for Kentucky since 1993-94.

Kentucky owns a stellar 5-0 record against teams ranked in the top 15 this season. The No. 8 Wildcats look to make it six straight wins over top-flight competition when they face No. 4 Alabama on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Lexington,

The game figures to be a high-scoring affair with a lot of three-point shots taken. Alabama leads the nation in scoring, averaging 89.5 points per game, while Kentucky is third in the country, scoring 88.7 points per contest. The Crimson Tide shoot 31.2 three-point shots per game, while the Cats hoist 27.7 attempts per game from behind the arc.

Kentucky is cooking, having dealt Florida its first loss of the season two weeks ago before pulling off hard-nosed wins against ranked conference opponents in Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Wildcats’ loss at Georgia on Jan. 7 was a bummer, but the response was electric — 16-of-32 shooting on treys and 95 total points in a frenzied Starkville.

Kentucky is one of the best teams in college basketball at defending the 3-point shot, but has that excellence come at a cost elsewhere on the court?

Mark Pope is in his first year coaching the Kentucky basketball team, and he has a good squad on his hands. The Wildcats are 14-3 and 3-1 in the loaded SEC, and Buzz Williams believes that they have the tools to win it all.

The arrival of Mark Pope has turned back the clock on the Rupp Arena crowds, which had been getting angsty by the end of the John Calipari era.

Paired with their win at No. 18 Mississippi State over the weekend, with No. 5 Alabama visiting Rupp Arena ... where we never felt great," UK coach Mark Pope said. UK's experience will carry ...