Kentucky vs Alabama Odds, Lines, and Spread

• The Kentucky Wildcats (5-9, 4-3 SEC) play the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-3, 8-0 SEC) on Tuesday, January 26
• The Crimson Tide have won nine straight games dating back to December 22
• See the odds, spread, analysis, and best bet below

The Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide will meet for the second time this season at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Tuesday night (Jan, 26, 7pm ET).

Alabama is currently dominating the SEC at 8-0 in conference play. The Crimson Tide looked every bit the part of conference leader when they beat Mississippi State 81-73 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Kentucky finally got back into the win column Saturday, beating LSU 82-69 in Lexington after losing three straight.

The Wildcats have won eight of the last 10 matchups between the schools but it was the Crimson Tide who came out on top in the last one, 85-65 on January 12th. The current odds are showing Alabama as a 8.5-point favorites in this matchup.

Kentucky vs Alabama Odds

Odds as of January 25th at Fanduel

Kentucky Struggling

The Wildcats began the season as the 10th-ranked team in the AP Top-25 Preseason Poll. They were favored to win the SEC and appeared headed to another NCAA Tournament. But after losing nine of their first 15 games of the season, they are an afterthought in the polls and will likely need to win the SEC Tournament to qualify for the big dance. Although, there is still some hope in Lexington after the Wildcats beat up on LSU 82-69 on Saturday.

Four Wildcats in double-figures scoring on Saturday night, led by @bboston_'s 18.

👏 @KeionB_12 + @sarr_olivier + @deemintz1 pic.twitter.com/cBMbuH6m9c

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 24, 2021

Kentucky came out on fire in the first half, taking a 49-36 lead into the locker room at halftime. The 49-point first half was a season high for the Wildcats, who have struggled to score this season only averaging 68.1 points per game. Freshman Brandon Boston led the way with 18 points for the second straight game in 34 minutes of action.

Alabama Rolling

The Crimson Tide opened the season at +2000 to win the SEC but have played their way all the way down to +450 at the moment. They’ve ridden their 13th-rated offense in terms of efficiency all season long and Saturday was no different. Their win over Mississippi State was closer than some expected but their effort was enough to claim their eighth straight SEC victory.

🎱 Straight SEC

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 🔔#BlueCollarBasketball | #RollTide pic.twitter.com/7Ab4ZoCvhN

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 24, 2021

Only 16 teams in the country score more points per game than the Crimson Tide. Even though their offense seemed sluggish at times against Mississippi State, they still managed to score their average. They put up 40+ points in both halves for the fourth consecutive game. Herbert Jones led the way 17 points, five rebound and seven assists in the win.

Best Betting Angle

As bad as Kentucky has been on offense, they are 15th-best in defensive efficiency (adjusted for opponent) in the nation. They do a great job defending the three-point line, holding opponents to 30% from distance. They play a slow drag-it-out pace that doesn’t allow teams to get into rhythm.

The issue for the Wildcats is that Alabama plays at the ninth-fastest pace in the nation and can connect from deep on anyone. The first time these two teams met, the Crimson Tide attempted 30 three-balls and hit 14 of them. In the last three games, only 10 teams in the land are hitting 3s at a better percentage than Alabama’s 46%. They live and die by the long ball and they mostly live with it.

Kentucky is not a good shooting team by any stretch of the imagination, but they are better than what they shot in the last meeting with Alabama. The Wildcats were a dismal 34% from the floor, including 22% from three. Given the accelerated pace, if the Wildcats can convert at a rate closer to their season average of 41%, this game should go over the modest total.

Pick: Over 146 (-112)