Cal, Cats expect tough time in Tuscaloosa
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In his five and a half seasons at the University of Kentucky, coach John Calipari has won in nearly every arena in the Southeastern Conference. Along with Arkansas' electric Bud Walton Arena, though, Alabama's Coleman Coliseum is one of two league venues where he has only experienced defeat.
Calipari's had just two cracks at it — in 2011 and 2013 — but he knows his top-ranked Wildcats (16-0, 3-0 SEC) will be challenged there again Saturday. The Crimson Tide (12-4, 2-1) is riding a 14-game home winning streak and the building is sold out for the first time since Jan. 22, 2013 — the last time UK came to town.
Anthony Grant is 71-11 at home as Alabama's coach and has won 17 of his last 19 SEC games there.
"This is a hard game. I mean, we haven't won down there," Calipari said. "This game's going to be different, now, because these guys are really physical. They disrupt your offense. You have to be strong with the ball. They'll trap our post; gotta play off that. They're playing much faster than they've played in the past. They've lost four games … all on the road (and) they could've won all of them. So we know how good they are."
The Tide is 37th in Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistical rankings and has beaten Arizona State, UCLA, Texas A&M — by 21 points in the game before the Aggies took UK to double overtime — and won at Tennessee. Alabama lost by two at South Carolina and by one at 13th-ranked Wichita State after blowing a late lead.
There's a history of giant-slaying, too. The Tide is 4-5 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams. Those upsets are old memories now, but there are more recent and relevant numbers that should worry the Wildcats. Alabama has held eight of its last nine opponents to 61 points or fewer, an average of 52.8 in that span, and in conference play leads the SEC in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point defense.
It's a good thing, then, that Kentucky got its edge back in a 49-point throttling of Missouri on Tuesday. The Cats looked less intimidating in a pair of overtime scares last week.
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"Maybe we got lucky on the close wins," shooting guard Aaron Harrison said, "but I think it does say something about our team that even though we don't play well, we still find ways to win. That's what great teams do. I think it's an attitude. You all have to come together and be able to know that you're going to win the game and have the confidence in each other to make the plays."
He believes this Kentucky team has what it takes to be road warriors, too. The Cats went 5-5 in true road games last season and lost nine total away from home. Beating the Tide would not only give Calipari another conquered SEC arena but improve UK to 3-0 in true road games and 5-0 away from Rupp Arena this season.
"We have some guys that's been on the road before. Last year, we were all freshmen. We really weren't used to that," said center Dakari Johnson, one of six sophomores on the roster. This season: "We're used to close games. We're used to playing away from the home court. I think we're just more used to it and familiar with it."
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.
TODAY'S GAME
NO. 1 KENTUCKY AT ALABAMA
4 p.m., Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: ESPN Radio: WHAS-840 and WAKY-103.5