How to watch: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 15 Kentucky in SEC Tournament

If No. 5 Alabama wants to make a run in the Music City, it will need to leave No. 15 Kentucky singing the blues for the third time this season.

The Crimson Tide beat the Wildcats 102-97 in Kentucky before completing the regular season with a 96-83 victory inside Coleman Coliseum. The two teams will now meet for a third time this season after Kentucky knocked off Oklahoma, 85-84, on Thursday night in the SEC Tournament.

Alabama will have a bit of extra rest heading into the matchup, as the Tide earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament, giving it a double-bye. Alabama hasn’t played a game since its buzzer-beating win at Auburn last weekend.

The Crimson Tide is looking to win its third SEC Tournament title in the last five seasons under Nate Oats. Here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s game.

Who: No. 5 Alabama (24-7) vs. No. 15 Kentucky (22-10)

When: 8:30 p.m. CT (estimated time), Friday, March 14

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

Watch: SEC Network (Play-By-Play: Karl Ravech, Analyst: Jimmy Dykes, Sideline: Molly McGrath)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Bryan Passink, Sideline: Roger Hoover)

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, graduate

Stats: 19.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.0 apg, 41.0% FG, 35.2% 3-pt

Chris Youngblood: 6-foot-4, 177 pounds, freshman

Stats: 10.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 43.7% FG, 37.4% 3-pt

Labaron Philon: 6-foot-4, 177 pounds, freshman

Stats: 10.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 46.3% FG, 30.8% 3-pt

Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, graduate

Stats: 12.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 52.5% FG, 26.6% 3-pt

Clifford Omoruyi: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, graduate

Stats: 7.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 74.6% FG

Lamont Butler: 6-foot-2, 208 pounds, graduate

Stats: 11.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 49.2% FG, 36.2% 3-pt

Otega Oweh: 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, junior

Stats: 16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 49.2% FG, 34.8% 3-pt

Koby Brea: 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, graduate

Stats: 11.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 46.3% FG, 44.0% 3-pt

Andrew Carr: 6-foot-11, 225 pounds, graduate

Stats: 10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 54.6% FG, 33.3% 3-pt

Amari Williams: 7-foot, 262 pounds, graduate

Stats: 11.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 58.0% FG, 33.3% 3pt

Mark Sears’ game-winning floater against Auburn gave Alabama some postseason momentum. Meanwhile, Grant Nelson appears poised to tap into the March magic that helped him carry the Tide to the Final Four last year. Alabama will look to lean on its star duo over the next month. However, if the Tide wants to cut down the nets in Nashville, it will need a few of its role players to rise to the occasion.

During his Wednesday press conference, Oats highlighted Aden Holloway, Mo Dioubate and Jarin Stevenson as players who will need to step up heading into postseason play.

After recording six straight games with double-digit scoring off the bench, Holloway netted a combined 8 points in his last two games against Florida and Auburn. In those two outings the sophomore shot just 3 of 10 from the floor, including 2 of 7 from beyond the arc. He also failed to get to the free-throw line in either game.

“He’s got to be more aggressive,” Oats said. “We’ve probably got to find some actions to get him going. He’s got to play a little bit better defense so we can keep him on the floor longer. A combination of all that.”

Dioubate posted a similarly lackluster production in Alabama’s last two games, recording a combined 7 points and eight rebounds against Florida and Auburn. That’s a stark contrast to the 8.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game he averaged over his previous five outings.

“I think Mo Dioubate is one that has shown what he’s capable of,” Oats said. “I think he hasn’t quite been as good as he could have been these last few weeks. We need, shoot, he won us the Grand Canyon game. He’s a guy that gives us something a lot different than pretty much anyone else on the roster. We need that out of him.”

Since being bumped from the starting line Stevenson has averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds over Alabama’s last six games. Despite his dip in production, he’s still shot 9 of 16 (56.3%) from the floor, including an impressive 6 of 11 (54.5%) from 3 over that span.

“I think Jarin Stevenson is one that’s got a lot more than he’s been giving us,” Oats said. “I got to do a better job getting it out of him, putting him in positions to succeed. … Jarin’s a guy that’s guarded RJ Davis, he’s guarded [Josh] Hubbard, he’s guarded some of the best guards in the country. He can guard the one through four, even one through five, depending on who your five is. Offensively, he’s got a lot of upside, he’s been shooting it really well since December, driving it downhill, finishing at the rim.”

Alabama could be getting some reinforcements on the bench, while Kentucky might be without one of its starters.

After missing Alabama’s final six regular-season games, freshman forward Derrion Reid was listed as questionable on the SEC-mandated injury report released Thursday night. The former McDonald’s All-American is averaging 7.1 points and 3.2 over 18 appearances this season.

Later in the night, Kentucky saw starting point guard Lamont Butler suffer an injury to his left shoulder during the Wildcats’ win over Oklahoma. After leaving the game with 9:50 left in the first half, Butler made his way to the locker room. Following halftime, he returned to Kentucky’s bench wearing a t-shirt.

Following the second media timeout of the second half, SEC Network’s Molly McGrath confirmed that Butler would not return to the game. Kentucky will determine Butler’s availability against Alabama when it receives the imaging on his shoulder on Friday.

“We’ll put it together piece by piece. I’m praying like crazy, I will be, that he can find his way back on the floor at some point this year,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope told reporters after the game. “It just doesn’t seem fair. This is not a fair game. I’m not saying that, but man, I would like so badly for him to be able to step on a court again. We’ll see how it goes.”

Butler has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury and sat out Kentucky’s loss at Alabama last month. He recorded 17 points and eight assists during the Wildcats’ loss to the Tide in Lexington, Kentucky in January. Butler has started all 23 of his appearances for the Wildcats this season. The San Diego State transfer is averaging 11.9 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the floor and 36.2% from beyond the arc.

— Alabama has scored 90-points or more in 17 games this season, the most by any Division I program.

— Sears is the ninth player in program history to be named First Team All-SEC twice throughout their career. The last Crimson Tide player to achieve the feat was Trevor Releford in 2013-14.

— Sears is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top-five in both scoring (No. 2, 19.2 ppg) and assists (No. 2, 5.0 apg).

— Philon became the first Alabama freshman since Collin Sexton (2018) to post 100 field goals, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in a single season.

— Alabama ended the season with a seven-game stretch facing opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll, the longest such streak in the country.