Men's Basketball Plays Host to No. 12 Kentucky
1/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2011
| Alabama Basketball Preview - vs. No. 12 Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alabama (10-7, 2-1 SEC) vs. No. 12 Kentucky (14-3, 2-1 SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10,000 crimson and white T-shirts courtesy of Texaco will make Coleman Coliseum a colorful backdrop for Tuesday's game. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama men's basketball team aims to bounce back from its first SEC loss of the season when it hosts No. 12 Kentucky Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST with the game being televised nationally by ESPN and carried via radio by the Crimson Tide Sports Network.
Less than 2,300 tickets remain for Tuesday's contest at home where the Crimson Tide is a perfect 9-0 this season. Adding to the squad's home court advantage are 10,000 crimson and white T-shirts donated by Texaco that will be placed in the seats of alternating sections of the Coliseum to paint a crimson and white backdrop surrounding the court.
The Crimson Tide is 2-1 in SEC play this season. After starting 2-0 in the league for the first time since the 2001-02 season, Alabama suffered a tough 70-65 loss on the road to Arkansas in game that the Tide only trailed for 1:16 to fall to 10-7 on the year.
Kentucky comes to Tuscaloosa with a 2-1 league record after trouncing LSU, 82-44, at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The victory gave Kentucky a 14-3 overall record.
"Kentucky is off to a great start at 2-1 in the league and a great overall record and performances when you look at what they've been able to do," Grant said of Tuesday's opponent. "They have a lot of fresh faces that have really stepped up and provided leadership, scoring and really defended well for their team. Certainly it provides a great challenge for us."
In its first three SEC games, Alabama is allowing 0.84 points per possession and is allowing just 0.82 overall this season, tying for the top mark in the nation with Nebraska.
Tuesday's game will pit the SEC's top-scoring offense in Kentucky (80.0 ppg) against the league's top scoring defense in Alabama (56.8 ppg).
"For us, our defense has given us a chance in every game," Grant said of his team. "We've got to make sure we do a great job. Kentucky obviously poses a great challenge with the offensive weapons they come at you with and the way they run their offense. Kentucky is also great defensive team too. A lot of what they do on offense is fueled by their defense."
Freshman point guard Trevor Releford led all scorers with 17 points at Arkansas and is averaging 12.3 points on 58.3 percent shooting with 3.0 assists per game against SEC foes. Also continuing his hot streak is JaMychal Green, who has led Alabama in SEC play with 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Kentucky's freshman guard Brandon Knight leads the Wildcats with 17.5 points per game.
Tuesday's game is the 136th meeting between the two schools. The teams are the two winningest SEC programs with 1,588 combined SEC wins between the two.
