Deep Dive Thread for Kentucky

Gameday Poster courtesy of AlabamaMBB

The Wildcats currently sit at 9-4 going into conference play after closing out the nonconference slate with some big wins over Indiana and St Johns. The Cats are coached in their second season by Mark Pope, who looks to get them back to the second weekend and beyond, as he did last season.

Kentucky is led in scoring once again by 6-4 Otega Oweh. The SEC preseason POTY is averaging 14/4.5/3 and almost 2 steals to lead the team in both scoring and steals. His 3pt percentage is down slightly from last season, but his game is still based on getting downhill and getting to the line.

Oweh can do a bit of it all but thrives getting to the rim. https://x.com/KentuckyMBB/status/2003938215703794153?s=20

Kentucky’s second leading scorer is a guy Alabama fans need no introduction to in 6-7 Mouhamed Dioubate. Dioubate transferred to Lexington this offseason and has done a solid job scoring in the paint and cleaning up the glass, as he has done his whole career. Kentucky fans hoped his 3pt percentage would be better, but it's been just 15% this season so far.

Dioubate is a guy who can make things happen on defense and the glass. https://x.com/KentuckyMBB/status/2003894879274127559?s=20

Kentucky’s next leading scorer is 6-5 Denzel Aberdeen, the transfer from Florida. Aberdeen has taken a step forward in his assist rate and efficiency both inside and outside the arc, from his time with the defending champs last season. He leads the team in assists and has been a solid addition to this team so far this season.

Arguably, Kentucky’s best player so far this season has been 6-5 Collin Chandler. Chandler has been solid on both sides of the ball this season and has been by far the best shooter from deep. The last few games have not been his best, but he was a bit of a bright spot in an otherwise rocky start to the season.

Kentucky’s last starter is 7-0 Malachi Moreno. Moreno leads the team in both blocks and rebounds and has been a real bright spot in the front court this season as a freshman. He has provided the energy and effort Kentucky fans were begging for after some of the early losses had a real lack of effort.

Moreno has been a solid shot blocker around the rim this season. https://x.com/KentuckyMBB/status/2002435807827972267?s=20

Injuries have hampered 6-3 Jaland Lowe from being the PG they brought him in to be. When he has been able to play, he’s been the pass-first PG they need, but Lowe has only been able to play 6 games this season, so how much impact he will have on this game, if at all, will be interesting.

Lowe has done a good job getting downhill to score around the rim. https://x.com/KentuckyMBB/status/2000039150016249945?s=20

Another guy who is coming back from injury is 6-10 Jayden Quaintance. He played his first time this season in the St. John’s game, leading them on an incredible run to take down the Johnnies. He brings an extra level of athleticism and rebounding to the front court that you have to account for on the offensive glass and with blocks.

Quaintance brings an energy and effort that is needed in the front court. https://x.com/KentuckyMBB/status/2002465620764619087?s=20

Tulane transfer 6-8 Kam Williams has not had quite the shooting season Kentucky fans expected out of him this season, but it will be interesting to see if anything changes now that we are entering SEC play. He came in as a 41% shooter and is just 35% so far this season.

The last guys that I expect to see are 6-10 Brandon Garrison, 6-5 Jasper Johnson, and 6-5 Trent Noah. Garrison started some games this season but got demoted a bit with some poor effort, but could play serious minutes in the front court with his talent. Johnson is a superstar freshman who has had flashes of the guy from recruiting. Noah is a real sniper from deep at 40% this season.

Kentucky has been a better defensive team this season than an offensive one, mostly due to some transfers not meshing quite as well so far this season as they may have expected. They have been very good at not turning the ball over on offense. They have been a solid defensive rebounding team, while holding teams to low shooting percentages from behind the arc.

Kentucky has struggled at running teams off the 3pt line so far this season. Also, they are allowing teams to assist on over 60% of their made field goals. I expect Alabama to be able to take advantage of this combination since they have taken a higher percentage of 3s this season compared to years past.

My player to watch is Aden Holloway. Aden has scored in double figures every game he played this season except for Arizona. He has really thrived in his new role in the offense and plays incredibly well in the pace and space. He scored in double figures in multiple games against Kentucky last season, even in his prior role. I expect the pace of this game to fit his game and him to thrive in Coleman.

Alabama beat Kentucky 3 times last season, which I know was a punch in the gut to Kentucky fans after Nate Oats turned them down in the offseason. Kentucky spent a ton of money in NIL both in the portal and recruiting for this season. I think that Alabama has built a team that plays better together, and I have Alabama winning this game as well.

Prediction: Alabama 95 - Kentucky 81

I broke down this game even further over on YouTube. Check it out and subscribe for more Alabama Basketball Content. https://youtu.be/85QkO4Eu7mA