Five Things To Know About Alabama

Kentucky will get a third look at Alabama today when the two teams meet in this evening’s quarterfinal game. The Cats took the first two by an average of 20 points, so it shouldn’t be too difficult of a contest for the unofficial home team.

Here are some of the things you need to know about the opponent, in case you’ve forgotten:

 

1.) Alabama had lost four out of five prior to last night.

It was a rough ending to the regular season for the Tide with four losses in the final five games. After winning five straight, including one over No. 15 Texas A&M, Bama dropped games to Mississippi State, No. 16 Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia.

2.) Retin Obasohan is really good.

You may recall the senior going off for 29 points in an unstoppable performance in Rupp Arena a few weeks ago. Unfortunately he had no help from his teammates, leading Avery Johnson to say Obasohan was playing one-on-two against the Kentucky backcourt. John Calipari called him one of the best players in the league, which isn’t wrong.

3.) Alabama ranks last in the conference in scoring.

Outside of whatever Obasohan does, there isn’t a lot of offense coming from the Tide. The team ranks dead last in the SEC in scoring at only 66.6 points per game. That ranks 309th in college basketball.

4.) Rebounding is a problem, too.

Bama also ranks dead last in the conference in rebounding at 34.9 boards per game. Kentucky had 30 more rebounds in the two regular season meetings.

5.) Avery Johnson loves Tyler Ulis.

“He’s a pro,” Johnson said, following a loss in Lexington. “He can play on the professional level. He’s probably better than a lot of the guys who are there now. He’s good, man. He can do everything. Now when I was playing in the NBA, there was guys like Spud Webb and Muggsy Bogues, but you know he is much better than those guys were offensively.”