John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats begin their quest to win a fourth straight SEC Tournament title with a matchup against a very desperate Alabama team fighting for their bubble lives.
Despite entering the SEC Tournament carrying the second seed, the argument can be made that John Calipari’s Wildcats are the favorites to cut down the nets in Nashville. Kentucky has won the event three straight years, and a fourth title would tie the Wildcats with the MAAC’s Iona Gaels for the most consecutive conference tournament titles in the country.
Led by Naismith semifinalist P.J. Washington, the Wildcats were dominant in the SEC this season, racking up a 15-3 record in conference play. Kentucky closed the season strong, winning its final two games, and they are set to get back key forward Reid Travis from a knee injury tonight.
That is a lot of bad news for the Wildcats’ opponent, Alabama, which needs a deep run in the SEC Tournament to play itself off the bubble. The Crimson Tide is off to a good start in Nashville, upsetting Ole Miss 62-57 to earn their date with Kentucky.
Alabama needed a furious second-half rally to beat the Rebels, trailing 38-24 at the break but turning it around by outscoring Ole Miss 38-19 in the second half. Junior Trevor Mack came off the bench to lead the Crimson Tide in scoring with 21 points, and Alabama needed every one of those points to get to this game.
If there is a positive for Alabama, it is the fact that they have already beaten Kentucky once this season, beating the Wildcats 77-75 in their only matchup of the regular season. Duplicating the feat would go a long way towards punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for Avery Johnson’s squad.
How to watch Kentucky vs. Alabama
- Date: Friday, March 15
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Venue: Bridgestone Arena
- TV: SEC Network
- Live Stream: WatchESPN