Alabama Braces For Second Kentucky Meeting in 2 Weeks

Alabama at No. 1 Kentucky

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

Records: Alabama 13-7, 3-4 SEC; Kentucky 20-0, 7-0 SEC

TV: SEC Network

The last time Alabama played a No. 1-ranked Kentucky team, there was a different feel surrounding the state of the program.

Though the Crimson Tide entered that game with a loss in its previous outing, a look at the matchup from a wider look showed that optimism exceeded doubt. After all, Alabama was playing at home in Coleman Coliseum where it had won 14 straight, and Kentucky had just recently escaped with a double-overtime win against the same Texas A&M team the Crimson Tide had already beaten by 21 points earlier in the season.

But things didn’t go so well. Alabama suffered its worst loss against Kentucky in 21 years in its 70-48 defeat to the Wildcats on Jan. 17. Then, it lost two of its next three games.

The level of hope, once there, dissipated.

Come Saturday, it will be two weeks since all of that occurred. Now, the Crimson Tide gets round two against the top-ranked Wildcats at Rupp Arena.

“We’re looking forward to getting back on the court. … Kentucky’s obviously playing really good basketball,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said.

But Alabama won’t be at full strength. Starting point guard Ricky Tarrant, who sat out all of last season due to NCAA transfer rules following two seasons at Tulane, will miss Saturday’s contest due to a lower leg injury sustained in the second half of Tuesday’s 52-50 loss to Florida, Grant said.

“We’ll know more about his status after the weekend,” Grant said.

Tarrant later returned to the game to play a key role in Alabama’s comeback attempt but was seen afterward on crutches. For the season, he is the Crimson Tide’s second-leading scorer at 13.1 points per game.

Though Grant wouldn’t say who would replace Tarrant in the starting lineup, the two most likely choices are redshirt junior Retin Obasohan and freshman Justin Coleman. Obasohan started in place of Tarrant in the first meeting against Kentucky, while he was dealing with a similar injury.

“We'll determine that at the appropriate time,” Grant said on the inevitable lineup change.

Kentucky, which remains unbeaten this season, hasn’t had a close call since it slipped past Texas A&M in a 70-64 double-overtime win on Jan. 10, beating teams by an average of 22 points in its last five games. The Wildcats hold a 54-10 all-time record, including a 22-6 mark at Rupp Arena, against Alabama.

Asked if this was the best Kentucky that he’s seen, Grant gave his usual succinct response. In this case, though, it wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to give an answer, but that he was unsure of what to say.

“Gosh, I’ve been in this league for 17 years,” he said. “(There’s been) a lot of really good Kentucky teams. It’s hard to really rate them.”