Alabama basketball made history in UA-Kentucky series: What it means

[ad_1]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mark Pope’s team can play.

This Kentucky bunch might not be an obvious national championship contender, but before delving into the history Alabama basketball made Friday night with a 99-70 dismantling of the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament, know this: UK has piled up 22 wins, including a victory over the No. 1 team in the country, Duke.

It’s squarely in the nation’s top 15 in the NET rankings. It’s got a terrifically talented guard-big man duo in Otega Oweh and Amari Williams. And it’s a no-brainer for an NCAA Tournament bid that should be good for a 3- or 4-seed when the selection committee unveils the bracket Sunday.

Now for the history: Alabama’s victory gave it three wins over UK in one season for the first time ever. In fact, it’s UA’s first three-game win streak of any kind over the Wildcats in a series that goes back more than 100 years and 160 games.

Alabama, Auburn writers take on Nashville hot chicken ahead of SEC Tournament

Alabama writers Chase Goodbread and Emilee Smarr, and Auburn writer Adam Cole, sweat it out over Hattie B’s hot chicken in Nashville, Tennessee, ahead of SEC Tournament play.

SECT: SEC men’s tournament schedule: Full bracket, games dates, how to watch

ANALYZE THIS: Why Alabama basketball was without its analytics team in SEC Tournament win over Kentucky

Alabama now holds an all-time mark of 44-117 against the tradition-rich blueblood. It’s been a dismal track record, not unlike Kentucky’s all-time history against most schools. By itself, it’s a factoid that says nothing about Alabama’s chances of winning the SEC tourney (UA faces Florida on Saturday), nor is it at all predictive about how the Crimson Tide will fare in the NCAA Tournament.

But it does mark a sea change in UA’s continuing upward surge as one of the nation’s best programs. These are the kinds of things that happen when the right coach gets the right resources, at the right school, at the right time. This is why Nate Oats’ contract buyout is a whopper. The number of…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/sports/columns/2025/03/15/alabama-basketball-made-history-ua-kentucky-series-what-it-means-sec-tournament-march-madness/81885344007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-15 05:50:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.