“Alabama right now is, of course, they’ve always been so potent, demanding shooting guards’ space, their pace is elite, ” Pope said. “I don’t know if the metrics change every but they are one of the fastest-playing teams in the country.”

In one of the most-anticipated battles of the SEC basketball season, No. 4 Alabama handed No. 8 Kentucky its first loss in Rupp Arena this season.

Get real-time COLLEGEBASKETBALL basketball coverage and scores as Alabama Crimson Tide takes on Kentucky Wildcats. We bring you the latest game previews, live stats, and recaps on CBSSports.com

Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide exploit a UK vulnerability in handing Mark Pope his first home loss as the Wildcats’ head coach.

The game figures to be a high-scoring affair with a lot of three-point shots taken. Alabama leads the nation in scoring, averaging 89.5 points per game, while Kentucky is third in the country, scoring 88.7 points per contest. The Crimson Tide shoot 31.2 three-point shots per game, while the Cats hoist 27.7 attempts per game from behind the arc.

Kentucky is cooking, having dealt Florida its first loss of the season two weeks ago before pulling off hard-nosed wins against ranked conference opponents in Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Wildcats’ loss at Georgia on Jan. 7 was a bummer, but the response was electric — 16-of-32 shooting on treys and 95 total points in a frenzied Starkville.

What channel is Kentucky basketball vs Alabama on today? Here's how to watch, time, TV schedule, streaming info and odds for the SEC basketball game.

Mark Pope is in his first year coaching the Kentucky basketball team, and he has a good squad on his hands. The Wildcats are 14-3 and 3-1 in the loaded SEC, and Buzz Williams believes that they have the tools to win it all.

Lamont Butler, in UK basketball's game vs Alabama at Rupp Arena, played with the toughness Mark Pope is trying to instill in his Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky basketball, for the first time under Mark Pope, lost at Rupp Arena on Saturday. The Kentucky Wildcats weren't able to slow Alabama's offense.

For the first time under Mark Pope’s leadership, UK basketball lost at Rupp Arena. The Kentucky coach explains a home defeat to Alabama.