Nate Oats Expects Best Version of UK in Potential Offensive Shootout

Rob Dillingham said Friday UK “has to play defense” to beat Alabama. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham and Alabama coach Nate Oats agree that both teams can really score going into this afternoon’s showdown in Rupp Arena. However, they also agree that defense could determine who wins the game.

No. 13 Alabama leads the nation in scoring at 91 points per game and No. 17 Kentucky is third at 87.6 points per game.

Alabama has scored 100-points in eight games this season — the most by an SEC school since Kentucky’s national championship 1995-96 team did it nine times. Over the last five seasons, Alabama has had 10 games with 18 or more 3-pointers in a game — the rest of the SEC has a combined five games with 18 or more in the same time span. Alabama has scored 80 points against conference opponents in seven straight games, the third longest streak in the SEC in the last 30 seasons (Kentucky had 10 in 1995-96 and nine in 2016-17).

“Offensively, we’ve been playing well. Defensively, we’re similar to Kentucky in that we’re both top 10 offenses and neither one of us has a defense that’s even in the top 70 (of the KenPom ratings) currently,” Oats said Friday. “I’m sure coach Cal’s trying to get his guys to guard a lot better, as am I, but we’re both gonna be preaching defense and maybe the first to 100 wins.”

“It’s really based on who plays defense and who gets rebounds. We can’t let them out rebound us and we’ve got to play defense if we want to win,” Dillingham said.

Kentucky’s defense improved in wins over Ole Miss and Auburn but then gave up 48 points in the second half against LSU Wednesday when the Tigers overcame a 15-point deficit with 19 minutes to play to beat UK.

“I would say intensity, fatigue,” Dillingham said when asked what happened to the defense at LSU. “It’s no different, we should have played better defense.”

He said the Cats have been “really locking in on the little things” on defense to prepare for Alabama.

The Crimson Tide averaged 102.3 points per game in wins over LSU, Texas A&M and Florida. However, Oats is not sure the UK defense is as bad as it has been portrayed, especially recently.

“I looked, two of their four best defensive performances — and maybe two of their best considering who they played — came in the last three games, so up until that LSU game, the two games previous, they’d really been guarding. The road win at Auburn was probably the best they’ve looked maybe all year,” the Alabama coach said.

“I do think they’re playing their best basketball. I think they had a little hiccup at LSU but I think we’ll get the best version of Kentucky that anybody’s seen all year is what I expect. We’re going to have to play well.”

Alabama leads the SEC with an 11-2 mark and has lost only at Tennessee and rival Auburn. Kentucky is tied for fifth at 8-5.

“I feel like we take every game as a challenge,” Dillingham said Friday. “But coming into our gym, I feel like we should take it as a challenge.”

Oats knows UK will be desperate for a win after the loss at LSU and how rowdy Rupp Arena probably will be.

“We’re going to try to do a little better job defensively. Would be nice if we could make a few more 3’s in the first half than we did in the last game too, but they’re a good team. Talented. Guard play is great. They’ve got a legitimate rim protector,” Oats said.

“They’ve got the talent to be a great defensive team and it looked like it was coming together. Even in the LSU game, I didn’t think they were they weren’t terrible, for sure. They weren’t as good as they were the two (games) before but they’re playing their best defensive basketball now of the year in my opinion.”