One of the best games of the college basketball season took place on Saturday as Nate Oats and No. 4 Alabama went on the road to Rupp Arena to take on Mark Pope and No. 8 Kentucky in Lexington. The two teams battled back and forth in a high-scoring affair before Alabama eventually made a few more plays to come out on top 102-97.

Kentucky basketball had another top 15 matchup in Rupp Arena, this time against #4 Alabama, and while the Wildcats hung around, the final minutes were the story

By Keith Taylor Kentucky Today Alabama was the first team to 100 points and it was just enough to hold off Kentucky Saturday in a showdown between the two top-scoring teams in the Southeastern Conference.

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

“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.”

Mark Pope’s UK team fell behind by 13 points at halftime and eventually lost by that same margin, 82-69, to Georgia in the Wildcats’ first SEC road game of the season.