Alabama averaged 99 points while defeating Kentucky three times last season.
That number could serve as the target score on Saturday afternoon when the No. 14 Crimson Tide face the Wildcats in the teams’ Southeastern Conference opener at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The high-octane Crimson Tide (10-3) already have topped 100 points five times this season and boast a scoring average of 94.5 points, eighth-best nationally. The Wildcats (9-4) check in at No. 62 at 84.9 points per game.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope is in charge of slowing Alabama’s assault of the scoreboard.
“Our communication is just massively key on the defensive end,” Pope said. “It’s going to be all conference long — maybe in no case more important than at Alabama.”
Pope’s methodology didn’t go well against the Crimson Tide last season, his first with the Wildcats.
Alabama scored 102, 96 and 99 points in its victories. The latter contest was a 29-point blowout in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament that gave the Crimson Tide a three-game winning streak over the Wildcats for the first time in a series long dominated by Kentucky.
Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats doesn’t seem worried about what Pope might come up with Saturday.
“However you want to guard us,” Oats said, “I think we’ve got good answers.”
Alabama expects to have leading scorer Labaron Philon Jr. (lower-leg contusion) back after a one-game absence. Philon was injured during a 92-81 victory over Kennesaw State on Dec. 21. He missed Monday’s 102-78 home rout of Yale.
“It’s definitely not super serious, but he couldn’t play in a game (Monday),” Oats said. “Hopefully he gets a lot of rehab.”
Philon leads the SEC in scoring (21.9 points per game) and paces Alabama in assists (5.6) and with 17 steals. He’s shooting a stellar 55.1% from the field.
“He’s really hard to contain,” Pope said of Philon. “He’s so great off the bounce. And I’ll tell you the thing that I don’t think he gets enough credit for — maybe he does — but he is an elite, elite, elite-level playmaker off the bounce, man. A passer, finding guys. He’s got a real skill of threading the needle.”
Big man Mouhamed Dioubate now plays for Kentucky after spending the past two seasons at Alabama.
Dioubate ranks second on Kentucky in scoring (12.3 ppg) behind Otega Oweh (14.2) and is second in rebounding (6.4), slightly behind Malachi Moreno (6.5).
“You didn’t really have to coach him to be tough,” Oats said of Dioubate. “He was tough. That’s who he is.”
The Crimson Tide enter with a three-game winning streak, and its three setbacks have come against ranked teams — Purdue, Gonzaga and Arizona.
“Non-conference is over with — 10-3 with the schedule we had is not bad,” Oats said. “We’d like to have gotten a few more of those wins, but I think we got better.”
When Philon sat out against Yale, Aden Holloway stepped up to score a career-high 26 points and make five 3-pointers for the fourth time this season. He’s second on Alabama in scoring at 17.6 ppg and has a team-best 33 treys.
Kentucky has won four straight games and hasn’t played since a 99-85 home victory over Bellarmine on Dec. 23. Kam Williams established career highs of 26 points and eight 3-pointers in that contest, while Dioubate added 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field.
All four of the Wildcats’ defeats have come against ranked foes — Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
