Bama Basketball Breakdown: Kentucky

Saturday afternoon, the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-2, 2-0 SEC; Kenpom: 8; T-Rank: 9; NET: 8) plays host to the Kentucky Wildcats (10-4, 1-1 SEC; Kenpom: 16; T-Rank: 35; NET: 36) in a game that matters significantly more to the ‘Cats than it does the Tide - in January. Quite the sentence to type out on this Friday morning, but it’s true. Such is life in 2023.

Let’s look at the big picture, the 7th-ranked Crimson Tide has a top-tier resume that is backed up by a big, talented squad that can go ten-deep and is led by arguably the best freshman in the country. Kentucky, on the other hand, is unranked and has a resume that is paper thin. If it were any name other than the Wildcats at the top of the…