Kentucky vs Alabama....A Preview

Kentucky vs Alabama…1/21/12
Saturday 12PMEST/11:00AMCST (CBS)
Kentucky leads the series 101-36

Alabama

Location: Tucaloosa,Ala.
Enrollment: 30,232
Arena: 15,316

Head Coach: Anthony Grant
Career Record: 118-52 (69.4%) 5 Seasons
At Alabama: 42-27 (60.9%) 2 Seasons

2010-11 Record: 25-12
2010-11 SEC Record: 12-4
Postseason: 4-1 NIT (Lost in final)

2011-12 Record: 13-4
2011-12 SEC Record: 2-1

Alabama 64 N. Florida 44
Alabama 74 Oakland 57
Alabama 62 Maryland 42
Alabama 70 Wichita St. 60
Alabama 65 Purdue 56
Alabama 82 Alabama A&M 45
Alabama 72 VCU 64
Georgetown 57 Alabama 55
Dayton 74 Alabama 62
Alabama 62 Detroit 54
Kansas St. 71 Alabama 58
Alabama 69 Oklahoma St. 52
Alabama 72 Jacksonville 55
Alabama 73 Georgia Tech 48
Alabama 74 Georgia 59
Alabama 69 LSU 53
Mississippi St. 56 Alabama 52

Alabama Stats

PPG-66.8
FG%-47.0%
3 PT%-27.1% (3.8PG)
FT%-71.3%
RPG-35.8 (+3.1)
APG-13.6
TO’s-12.5
SPG-7.1
BPG-4.6

Probable Starting Lineup

JaMychal Green-F 6’8” Sr…………………………14.2 PPG
Tony Mitchell-F 6’6” Jr……………………………14.5 PPG
Trevor Lacey-G 6’3” Fr…………………………….7.5 PPG
Trevor Releford-G 6’1” Soph………………………12.5 PPG
Levi Randolph-G 6’5” Fr……………………………6.1 PPG

Other Key Players

Nick Jacobs-F 6’8” Fr……………………………….5.3 PPG
Andrew Steele-G 6’4” Jr…………………………….6.5 PPG

Coach Anthony Grant was very disappointed that Bama didn’t receive an NCAA invitation last season despite finishing with a 12-4 SEC record. The problem was that the Tide had a very weak non-conference schedule. Grant made certain he corrected that this season by scheduling much tougher non conference opponents such as Georgetown, Oklahoma St, Georgia Tech, Dayton, VCU and Kansas St.. In addition, Grant brought in three top 50 rated freshmen.

Alabama returns two of the best players in the SEC in JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell and both are the leading scorers averaging 14 PPG. Mitchell leads the team in blocks and rebounds. Two highly recruited freshmen, Levi Randolph and Trevor Lacey, have cracked the starting lineup. UK fans will remember Lacey who was recruited by the Cats for his long range accuracy. However, thus far Lacey has struggled from the perimeter hitting only 15-54 for 27.8%. In fact, the entire team is only hitting 27.1% from the 3 point line.

A signature of Anthony Grant teams is hard nose defense and he is rebuilding the Alabama basketball program. This is a good Bama team with improving talent and some key experience on the frontline with Green and Mitchell. The Crimson Tide have some solid wins this season…..defeating Maryland, Purdue, Oklahoma St. and Georgia Tech.

UK is coming off one of their best performances of the season in defeating Arkansas. The Cats saw Anthony Davis break the season record in blocks with much of the season still left. Davis was simply outstanding offensively and defensively. Terrence Jones continues to improve his game with a solid performance against the Razorbacks. Importantly, Teague had perhaps his best overall game as PG at UK by handing out 9 assists while effectively running the offense. Overall, it was a very good team performance and kept UK’s 46 home winning streak alive. Perhaps the only negative is that the Cats need to do a better job of hitting shots from the perimeter.

Alabama will present a tougher challenge than Arkansas as they are bigger and more talented. Coach Cal will be especially looking for Teague and Jones to continue to improve their game. I see a 12 point UK win over Alabama. GO CATS!