Kentucky faced off against #4 Alabama in their fifth game of the season against an AP top 15 team, and their third-straight at home, which marked the first time

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.

Year one of the Mark Pope era at Kentucky is off to an outstanding start.

No. 4 Alabama marched into Lexington and beat No. 8 Kentucky in a thrilling 102-97 showdown between SEC powerhouses. The Crimson Tide and Wildcats showed exactl

“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.”

Kentucky basketball is coming off of a high-scoring and thrilling battle with #4 Alabama that ended in a 102-97 loss, and with no mid-week game, they're full at

Mark Pope and Kentucky fell at home to Alabama 102-97 in quite the basketball game in the SEC. The No. 8 Wildcats brought a lot to the table but the No. 4 Crimson Tide were just a little bit better. Pope threw that word out during the postgame presser though. He felt Kentucky wasn’t even close to their potential.

Pope inherited a team that had zero returning players from the previous season’s rotation and was tasked with filling out an entire roster through the transfer portal as well as