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After coming off an impressive 22 point victory at Auburn, UK will head back to the land of Nick Saban to play Alabama tonight. Tonight’s game will be a major game for SEC standings purposes as both teams are 3-1 in conference play. A win by either team places them in the top three of the SEC and the loser will fall into the long list of teams with 2 losses. With that, lets get to the things to watch for:
*Perimeter defense
UK has guarded the perimeter fairly well this year other than a handful of games. If they want to leave Tuscaloosa with a win, tonight better not be one of those games. Alabama has three guards, Trevor Lacy, Trevor Releford and Levi Randolph, shooting over 40% from deep. Lacy leads the SEC in shooting the three and will light it up if left open. UK needs to be able to stop those three from having open shots tonight. I am looking for UK to hold those three players to under 40% for the game if they want to be able to shut down the Crimson Tide.
*Push the pace
Alabama coach Anthony Grant wants to have a turtle like pace during the game tonight. He would be more than happy to have the game not get into the 50’s, much less the 60’s. His teams play great defense and run the shot clock on offense. UK needs to get out and run, off misses and makes in order to keep the tempo up. UK has to be patient and keep their composure when searching for good shots, but they have to find a way to push the pace whenever it is available. Even with Cauley-Stein out of the game I look for UK to use the full court press early to try to push the pace and dictate the tempo. UK needs to be able to get to 70 points tonight and if they do, it will likely be a win.
*Bench production
UK’s short bench is still even shorter with Cauley-Stein out for tonight. Polson played his best game since the Maryland game against Auburn and he is going to have to continue to contribute. Hood also got some playing time last game and it is going to be imperative that some of those guys are able to score some points while giving the starters a breather. This will be a physical game; it is how Alabama plays, so all of the players will need breaks during the game. I am looking for the bench to contribute 15 or more points during the game.
*Archie watch
Last game was regarded as one of Goodwin’s best games of the year. He shot a high percentage, showed emotion and limited his turnovers. This game could be a disaster for Archie if he is out of control and tries to force the action. The reason is simple, Archie likes to play in the open court, attack the rim and constantly be aggressive. This is not the style of play that will work against Alabama. Alabama tries to frustrate and stifle opposing teams on offense and force them to take ill-advised shots late in the shot clock. Archie has to keep his composure and only attack when it is available. If he does that, he could have a very good game by not necessarily scoring a lot. I want to see Goodwin shoot over 50% from the field and have less than four turnovers.
After a game off, the grades will be back tonight after the game. As always, Go Big Blue.
You can follow me on Twitter: @tyleradkinsksr1
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