There are five remaining games this season that will determine if the Kentucky Wildcats will be in a position to win the SEC regular-season championship: Two matchups each against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers, plus a home game vs. the Auburn Tigers, will play a major role in who takes home the crown.

The first of those five games is Saturday against No. 4 Alabama, who has the potential to be the most electric team in college basketball. The Crimson Tide have become a heavyweight in recruiting, with three McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster this season to go with several former highly-touted transfers. Their recruiting has led to some really talented teams in recent seasons.

This season, Alabama is averaging 89.5 points per game, 45 rebounds per game, and is shooting 47.1% from the floor.

This is a veteran Crimson Tide team, one that played in the Final Four in 2024. They’re coming off a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday night, but this is the SEC. The Crimson Tide will come ready to play Saturday afternoon. Just as we saw in recent games vs. Florida and Mississippi State, Kentucky needs to be ready to win a shootout.

Let’s look at who to keep an eye on this Saturday afternoon.

Players to Watch

1. #1 Mark Sears 6’1’ 190 lbs. Gr. Guard Muscle Shoals, Ala. Ohio Transfer
18.6 pts, 3.1 rebs, 77 ast.-42 TO, 40.8 FG%, 35.3 3-PT FG%, 82.9 FT%, 32.6 mpg

A Second-Team All-American by the AP, Sporting News, and USBWA in 2024, Sears is one of the best returning players in the country this season. He was the 2024 West Region Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament, earning him a spot on the Wooden Award Ballot.

Sears was also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation’s best point guard. His 21.5 points per game were 11th in the country, while his 43.6 3-point field goal percentage ranked No. 6. That scoring average went up to 24.2 points per NCAA Tournament game, and Sears also shot 45.5% from 3-point range. His season was so impressive that Sears became the first NCAA player in 31 years with 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists, and 95 3-pointers in a single season.

Sears has 10 games with 20+ points this season, including four straight, with three of those being the first three games in SEC play. His 27-point games, two of them, have come in wins against Creighton and Texas A&M. Sears also has 10 games with five+ assists, including 10 assists against Oklahoma. From beyond the arc, Sears has five games with four or more 3-pointers. He’s played 30+ minutes in 14 games this season.

Coming off a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday night, the Wildcats better be ready for Sears to come out ready to rock. This is a big-game performer, and Kentucky will be thrown the kitchen sink from Sears on Saturday afternoon.

2. #4 Grant Nelson 6’11” 230 lbs. Gr. Forward Devils Lake, N.D. North Dakota State Transfer
12 pts/gm., 8.6 rebs, 22 blk, 53.2 FG%, 25% 3-PT FG, 62.9 FT%, 26.9 mpg

Nelson was terrific for Alabama in the NCAA Tournament last year, being named to the West Region All-Tournament Team. Against North Carolina in the Sweet 16, Nelson had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks in an 89-87 win. That was the first time since Kevin Love in 2008 for UCLA that a player had 20+ points, 10+ rebounds, and five+ blocks in a Sweet 16 game or later, and Nelson was the difference in a back-and-forth game in Los Angeles.

Nelson already has four double-doubles this season, including a 23-point, 10-rebound performance at his home state North Dakota. He has three 20-point games this season and six games with double-digit rebounds. With three 30+ minute games this season, Nelson played 40 minutes in Alabama’s win over Houston at the Players Era Festival. Nelson had 13 points and 10 rebounds in that game.

3. #0 Labaron Philon 6’4” 177 lbs. Fr. Guard Mobile, Ala.
11.4 pts, 3.7 rebs, 21 stl, 48.7 FG%, 26.8 3-PT FG%, 67.4 FT%, 23.9 mpg

Philon played his final season of high school basketball in Missouri, but he was prolific for the previous three years at Baker High School in Mobile. Scoring over 2,300 points, Philon was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama in 2023 after averaging 35 points per game that season. Philon comes to Tuscaloosa as the No. 30 recruit by ESPN and the No. 5 point guard, according to On3.

Philon started the season with nine double-digit scoring games in non-conference play. He also has six games this season with five+ assists. SEC play has clearly been an adjustment for Philon, who has scored below 10 points in each of his last three games while shooting just 6-25 from the field.

Still, Philon is a capable scorer and distributor of the basketball. The Wildcats must account for him throughout 40 minutes on Saturday.

4. #2 Aden Holloway 6’1’ 180 lbs. So. Guard Charlotte, N.C. Auburn Transfer
11.1 pts, 1.8 rebs, 47.9 FG%, 39.4 3-PT FG%, 81% FT, 20.9 mpg

Yes, you read that correctly. Holloway transferred to Alabama from Auburn. Holloway is a McDonald’s All-American from 2023, one of three to join Alabama this season, where he was a 5-star recruit and ranked No. 21 overall by ESPN and the No. 6 point guard. He was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team in 2024, a season where he made 52 3-pointers.

Holloway has scored in double-digits in each of his last six games. But this is an elite 3-point shooter, and that’s what concerns me going into this matchup. Holloway has six games with three or more 3-pointers. He made five threes against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and he followed that up with eight 3-pointers in Alabama’s final non-conference game against South Dakota State. In that game, Holloway took 19 attempts from 3-point range.

Holloway will make threes and keep shooting if they don’t go in. Kentucky must be relentless in their defensive game plan against Holloway.

5. #35 Derrion Reid 6’8” 220 lbs. Fr. Forward Grovetown, Ga.
8.1 pts, 3.4 rebs, 45.7 FG%, 28.1 3-PT FG%, 53.1 FT%, 17.5 mpg

Reid is the second of three McDonald’s All-Americans to join the Crimson Tide program this season. He’s the fourth-highest recruit in program history, and Reid was ranked as the No. 11 recruit by ESPN in the Class of 2024 while being named to the Naismith All-American Honorable Mention team.

In his first season in Tuscaloosa, Reid has scored double-digit points six times and has played 20+ minutes five times. Reid has also pulled down five+ rebounds three times.

6. #11 Clifford Omoruyi 6’11” 250 lbs. Gr. Center Benin City, Nigeria Rutgers Transfer
7.1 pts, 6.1 rebs, 74.6 FG%, 65.9 FT%, 17.9 mpg

Omoruyi brings an extensive pedigree to Tuscaloosa after spending the first four seasons of his career at Rutgers, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten Defensive Team member and two-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. A finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award in 2023 — given to the nation’s best center — Omoruyi finished his Rutgers career with 1,251 points and ranked fourth in program history with 933 rebounds and a 54.8 field-goal percentage and ranked sixth with 221 blocks.

In his first season with the Crimson Tide, Omoruyi has five games with double-digit points and two games with double-digit rebounds. Every game Omoruyi has taken at least one shot, he’s shot 50% or better from the field. He’s played 20+ minutes four times this season.

7. #15 Jarin Stevenson 6’11” 215 lbs. So. Forward Chapel Hill, N.C.
4.9 pts, 3.6 rebs, 35.6 FG%, 22% 3-PT FG, 55.3 FT%, 17.5 mpg

Stevenson broke out with five 3-pointers in Alabama’s Elite Eight win over Clemson last year, sending the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four in program history. Before reclassifying to the class of 2023 from the Class of 2024, Stevenson was a 5-star recruit and No. 1 power forward, according to ESPN. He was the No. 41 player in the class of 2023, according to ESPN, but he was clearly ready for the March Madness stage with his performance against Clemson.

The 2023 Gatorade Players of the Year in North Carolina, both of Stevenson’s parents played college basketball. His father, Jarod, played professionally in South Korea for 20 years.

This season, Stevenson has earned a solid spot in the rotation. He’s played 20+ minutes in every SEC game for the Crimson Tide this season, including a season-high 26 minutes against Ole Miss on Tuesday night. Stevenson is also an emerging shot blocker, with multiple blocks in four of his last five games.

8. #10 Mouhamed Dioubate 6’7” 215 lbs. So. Forward Queens, N.Y.
4.5 pts, 5 rebs/gm., 51% FG, 3-10 3-PT FG, 70.6 FT%, 13.6 mpg

Dioubate is in his second season with the Crimson Tide, and he’s increased his scoring by over 1.5 points per game and has more than doubled his rebounding average. With 10 points in two games at the Players Era Festival, Dioubate has become a greater contributor in Alabama’s biggest games this season.

One of those games at the Players Era Festival saw Dioubate post a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, a game where he also played 28 minutes. Dioubate has played double-digit minutes in each of Alabama’s last three games.

9. #22 Aiden Sherrell 6’10” 240 lbs. Fr. Forward Detroit, Mich.
2.5 pts, 2.7 rebs, 37.2 FG%, 4-21 3-PT FG, 6-14 FT, 7.5 mpg

Sherrell is the third of three McDonald’s All-Americans to join Alabama this season. ESPN ranked Sherrell as the No. 4 center (No. 21 overall) in the Class of 2024. He’s played sparingly this season, but he does have six games with double-digit minutes with a season-high 17. Sherrell’s season-highs are seven points and nine rebounds, and he twice pulled down seven rebounds. One of those games with seven rebounds was a win over Creighton.

Head Coach: Nate Oats (6th season)

Oats has quickly become one of the best coaches in the country, leading the Crimson Tide to the 2024 Final Four in addition to two SEC Regular-Season and Tournament titles. He also was the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year.

Prior to Tuscaloosa, Oats spent four seasons at Buffalo, where he led the Bulls to three NCAA Tournaments and the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2018. The Bulls would win another NCAA Tournament game in 2019, and Oats was the MAC Coach of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.

Keys to the Game

1. Rebounding: Texas A&M served as a good precursor to Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide are third in the country with 45 rebounds per game. Kentucky is 14th at 40.9 rebounds per game, and they will need to match the Crimson Tide’s relentlessness on the glass Saturday afternoon.

2. Make Alabama Settle for 3s: The Crimson Tide are shooting just 32% from beyond the arc. They have some capable shooters from 3-point range, but Kentucky is best at making the Crimson Tide beat them from beyond the arc. The Wildcats can’t let Alabama get easy shots in what is going to be a high-scoring game.

3. Championship Mentality: Kentucky has the opportunity to establish itself as an early front-runner in the SEC regular-season title race. If the Wildcats can win this game, they will be 4-1 in the SEC and put themselves on the inside track with a cushion ahead of other big matchups. But Alabama also knows what’s at stake and will be playing this game like it’s an SEC Championship. Kentucky must match that mentality in order to come out of Rupp with a win.

Score Prediction: Kentucky 109 – Alabama 103

There will be a lot of points scored in this game. These are two of the best offenses in the country. Alabama scored just 64 points on Tuesday night in their loss to Ole Miss, so they will be ready to fire on offense Saturday afternoon. So too will the Wildcats, and I believe they will outscore the Crimson Tide for another win against an AP top-10 team this season.

As will be the case throughout this SEC season, you are not going to have any real stretch of easy games for the next two months. Yes, an LSU or South Carolina (or Arkansas) might give you a slight breather, but Kentucky is facing the hardest gauntlet of conference games in its history — and potentially college basketball history.

But after digging through the record books, I was somewhat surprised that the game against Alabama will mark just the seventh time in the last 25 seasons in which Kentucky has faced three consecutive ranked opponents. And Kentucky has actually played five in a row as Georgia is now ranked, although the Bulldogs were not when they played Mark Pope’s team on Jan. 7.

So my question is this: simply based on ranking alone, is this the toughest three-game stretch in modern UK history?

THE 7 INSTANCES

2024-25 (COMBINED RANKING: 25)
at #14 Mississippi St: WIN
#11 Texas A&M: WIN
#4 Alabama: ?????

2020-21 (COMBINED RANKING: 38)
at #9 Alabama: LOSS
at #18 Missouri: LOSS
#11 Tennessee: LOSS

2000-01 (BEST COMBINED RANKING: 43)
#25 Notre Dame: WIN
#4 Tennessee: WIN
at #21 Ole Miss: LOSS
at #18 Alabama: LOSS

2018-19 (COMBINED RANKING: 49)
at #18 Auburn: WIN
#22 Mississippi St: WIN
#9 Kansas: WIN

2003-04 (COMBINED RANKING: 49)
#9 North Carolina: WIN
#20 Vanderbilt: WIN
at #20 Mississippi St: WIN

2002-03 (COMBINED RANKING: 49)
#10 Notre Dame: WIN
#24 Auburn: WIN
at #15 Alabama: WIN

2005-06 (COMBINED RANKING: 52)
at #24 LSU: LOSS
at #11 Tennessee: WIN
#17 Florida: LOSS

I don’t think there is any way around it. This is, at least based on ranking, the hardest three-game regular-season stretch we have faced in the last quarter century. And the fact Kentucky could potentially sweep those games shows this team has elite potential. It seems as if this team faces the hardest challenges the best. Which is good, because basically every game is hard.

By now, you’ve probably heard Mark Pope throw around the phrase ‘autopsy’ after games. It’s his version of film review, dissecting a 40-minute battle for the Kentucky Wildcats from start to finish, figuring out what worked and what did not leading to a win or loss. That’s what he uses to prepare for future opponents and follow important trends, deciding what needs to get fixed with urgency and what his team can build upon.

What does that look like for Pope and his staff following a game, though? What answers are they searching for when they put on the rubber gloves and safety goggles? He gave a thorough description of his version of a basketball ‘autopsy’ when previewing the team’s matchup vs. No. 4 Alabama on Thursday.

What is an autopsy?

“It’s pretty extensive,” the Kentucky head coach said. “We have our own formatted report that (assistant video coordinator) Matt Santoro puts together. Over the years, we’ve developed all of the things that we really care about. We’ll get that report, we’ll get an HDI report, we’ll get the box score — we get the whole thing — and then we’ll each individually break down film, then we’ll do it together as a staff, then we’ll do it together as a team.”

It may make sense for some to find the glaring flaws in hopes of fixing them right away. That’s what everyone does, hoping to make wrongs right — especially after a loss. For Kentucky, it’s the exact opposite.

Instead, they put a pin in those issues and dive into everything the team did well.

“The first thing we look at is, what did we do well? You cherry pick the stuff you did well,” Pope said. “If you want to get better at something, find yourself doing it well and focus on it and show it over and over and over again. Like, that’s really true. It’s way different than I’ve ever experienced approaching the game.

“As coaches, we’re so good at — we watch 10 minutes of film and we find the 17 mistakes, and it feels like a victory. That’s actually — it’s not the way we do this. We work really hard because the things that are mistakes are glaring. They just shout at you, it’s like, everything’s fine, and you see the mistake, but I think the real skill in coaching is finding guys doing it great. Sometimes, as a coach, you just gloss over that stuff because there was nothing wrong. There’s nothing to fix, and we’re fixers, it’s what we do. We go fix the problems.”

Focusing on the good, not bad

Among the questions asked when the staff first begins an autopsy?

“What are we doing well?” Pope said. “What did we do great? What part of the game plan did we execute well? Where have we really grown? Where can we show our guys something we didn’t do well before, but we’re doing it great now? What are things that our guys didn’t even realize that they did well, that we did really well? We’ll spend a lot of time on that. We’ll spend very minimal time — certainly on video — on the things that we’re doing wrong, but we’ll take that in as a staff and really digest that as a staff.”

Then when it comes time to finding and correcting the mistakes, they actually circle back to moments when they did those things correctly to drive those points home. If they’re rebounding poorly, the staff finds all of the times they attacked the glass with force and intensity to come away with boards and try to recreate that magic.

That’s how they determine the next steps and how to continue to improve.

“Sometimes we’ll see something we really struggle with — which we did, we struggled in a couple areas in the last couple games. What we do is we actually go back and we’ll grab film of us doing it really well, and we’ll talk about where we’re getting ourselves in trouble, and then we’ll show them a bunch of clips of us doing it correctly, right? Autopsy is all about that,” Pope said. “The biggest part of autopsy is, like, where are we trying to grow directly over the next few weeks? What are our long-term goals? How is this new data set — how has it changed where we’re trying to head? What is it telling us about our team? What’s it telling us about our rotation? What’s it telling us about guys we have on the floor together? What’s it telling us about substitution patterns? The whole deal. It’s super fun. It’s like a puzzle.”

Games are to be ‘dead and buried’

The dictionary definition of autopsy is “a postmortem examination to discover the cause of death or the extent of disease.” If that sounds dark and deadly for basketball comparisons, it’s because it’s meant to be.

They perform autopsies because they represent games that deserve to be ‘dead and buried,’ as Pope puts it. Once one ends, it’s time to turn the page and focus on what’s next. No looking back.

“It’s really important. We always think about it like this: win or loss, that’s dead and buried. That’s done,” he said. “We’re going to take all the data, we’re going to take all the information we’re taking, but we’re moving on. We’re flipping the page, right? I think it’s two parts. I think one part is, we’re going to dig deep. We’re going to — I mean, I don’t want to get too tasteless, right? Everybody is about to go to lunch, but we’re digging really deep.

“We’re trying to uncover everything we have, and then it’s dead and buried. We’ve got to move on to the next thing. That’s important when — sometimes the wins are harder to get over than the losses. We’ve got to turn the page, bury it and let’s go.”

Any lingering issues?

What are the things currently plaguing this team, things that continue to pop up during autopsy sessions that aren’t getting fixed for one reason or another? Pope actually can’t thing of any — at least none that continue to linger with no sign of active growth.

That’s one beautiful part about this group: when adversity strikes, they find ways to respond.

“I don’t have a lot of things we’ve talked about for six weeks that we haven’t made progress on now,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we talk about every single day where we’re making progress and we want to make more progress. There are a lot of those. But one of the blessings of this team — I’m telling you, it’s a gift to coach this team. I’m so lucky that I get to coach this team because we don’t have a lot of things that we — there’s not a lot of times we’re pointing the guys in a direction.

“Sometimes we don’t see progress in a day, but over the last week or two weeks or month, there are not things where we’re like, ‘I’ve said this a thousand times’ or ‘We’ve watched this a thousand times and we’re not making progress.’ We have an unbelievably studious locker room. Like, our guys pay attention and they’re focused on growing.

“It’s super cool, man. It’s really fun to coach.”