Kentucky has been cover machine in ranked matchups

Mark Pope talks to his team from the sideline - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky is off to a 14-3 (3-1) start in year one under head coach Mark Pope. The Wildcats have one of the best offenses in college basketball and are building a high-quality NCAA Tournament resume. Pope’s squad has also been at its best in the biggest games.

Saturday’s home game against No. 4 Alabama will be the sixth ranked vs. ranked matchup for No. 8 Kentucky this season. The Wildcats enter this weekend with a 9-8 against-the-spread mark and a 9-8 over record. Over half of those covers have occurred against ranked foes.

The Cats might be the best big game team in college basketball this season.

Game	Result
No. 19 Kentucky (+5.5) vs. No. 6 Duke	Won 77-72
No. 4 Kentucky (+6) vs. No. 7 Gonzaga	Won 90-89 (OT)
No. 6 Florida vs. No. 10 Kentucky (-3.5)	Won 106-100
No. 6 Kentucky (+5.5) at No. 14 Mississippi State	Won 95-90
No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 8 Kentucky (-6.5)	Won 81-69

Kentucky has the big neutral-site win over Duke, a glorified road win over Gonzaga, a shootout win versus Florida, a high-quality road win against Mississippi State, and double-digit home victory over Texas A&M. Pope’s team has been at its best against the best teams on the schedule.

Now another big game has arrived. Will this trend continue against Alabama? The Tide is 5-2 ATS in ranked vs. ranked games with a 4-2-1 over record. We will find out soon.

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Kentucky is currently a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 178.5 for this highly anticipated SEC clash. Will Big Blue come out on the right side again in another AP Top 25 clash?

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