Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide ‘hunting’ Cats in T-Town
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide looks to finish a sweep of the Cats as the hunter rather than the hunted.
Early Tuesday evening, Alabama Basketball will attempt to do what it has not done since 1989. As in, beating the Kentucky Wildcats twice in the regular season. The basketball rivalry between the two schools has a history similar to their football record. One team dominates the historical wins and in basketball the team is Kentucky.
The Alabama Crimson Tide record against the Cats is 31-86, a success rate of 26.5 percent. The teams have played against each other since 1923. The Crimson Tide has more success against the Cats in Tuscaloosa than in Lexington, though the Tide did knock off the Cats in Lexington for the 1982 SEC Tournament Championship.
The 2020-21 season is role reversal for the Tide and the Cats. The Wildcats are a stunning 5-9. After a 1-6 start, John Calipari’s team is trying to climb its way back to an NCAA Tournament bid. After losing to the Tide in Lexington, the Cats had road losses to Auburn and Georgia. Some hope returned for Kentucky with a 13-point thrashing of LSU, Saturday in Lexington.
The Crimson Tide sits atop the SEC standings, at No. 9 in the NCAA NET Ranking and is an eight-point favorite. Oddsmakers are convinced the Tide’s 20 point win in Rupp Arena will not be replicated in Coleman Coliseum.
SEC opponents chase the Crimson Tide as a ‘hunted’ foe. After the Mississippi State victory, John Petty Jr. acknowledged the situation.
"Everybody wants a piece of Alabama – they can get it, too."
On Monday, Herbert Jones responded to the Tide being described as the hunted.
"We don’t feel like we’re being hunted, we’re still hunting."
What John Petty Jr and Herbert Jones have meant to this team cannot be overstated. Along with Alex Reese and graduate transfer, Jordan Bruner, the Tide’s seniors have made a huge difference. That difference cannot be compared to the return of DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris and Alex Leatherwood, yet. Nate Oats is quick to credit each of the four players for their leadership.
John Petty Jr. is the most explosive player in the SEC. Herbert Jones, while less flashy, is arguably the league’s best player. He and his teammates handled an unsurprisingly tough game against Mississippi State. The Tide got a first-half boost from freshman, Josh Primo, but Herbert was the glue holding the Tide together. His box score versus the Bulldogs was 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocks.
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The Crimson Tide seeks a 10th win in its current streak. How that compared to past Alabama basketball winning streaks can be found here.