‘He’s tremendous.’ ESPN analyst Dick Vitale praises Mark Pope during UK-Alabama broadcast
After a two-year absence from his legendary line of work, beloved ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is back behind the microphone.
The 85-year-old Vitale has returned following a four-year-battle with four types of cancer, including vocal cord cancer, and remains a featured part of ESPN’s college basketball coverage.
ESPN model predicts outcome of highly-anticipated Kentucky vs. Alabama game
ESPN’s matchup predictor has projected Saturday’s big SEC contest between No. 4 Alabama and No. 17 Kentucky in Tuscaloosa.
Both teams will be looking for a win to give themselves momentum heading into the final weeks of the regular season. After a 1-4 slump, the Wildcats have won 3 of their last 4, including an 82-61 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday behind a 20-point, 7-rebound performance from Otega Oweh. The Tide, meanwhile, have dropped back-to-back games against Auburn (94-85) and Mizzou (110-98).
Alabama won the meeting between the 2 teams back in January as Grant Nelson and Mark Sears combined for 49 points in a 102-97 win in Lexington. And this time around, ESPN’s predictive model is heavily on the side of the hosts, giving Alabama a 70.3% chance of victory.
Looking at potential NCAA Tournament seeding, Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology has Alabama as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region. Kentucky, meanwhile, is being projected as a 3 seed in the South region.
Alabama is currently tied with Florida for 2nd in the SEC, but the Gators are ahead on a tiebreaker. Both are 2 games back of Auburn. Meanwhile, Kentucky is currently the No. 9 seed.
Three Things to Watch For in Alabama’s Home Matchup Against Kentucky
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 4 Alabama men’s basketball hasn’t had the best last few days.
This past Saturday, the Crimson Tide was on the losing end of a historic Iron Bowl of Basketball home game against No. 1 Auburn. On Wednesday night, Alabama lost once again in a road matchup against No. 15 Missouri.
Each of the Tide’s final seven matchups of the regular season are against ranked teams and Alabama’s already lost the first two. Nevertheless, the Crimson Tide aims to finish the regular season strong, starting with No. 17 Kentucky at home on Saturday evening.
Here are three things to watch for in Coleman Coliseum and on ESPN:
1. The Moments After Tipoff
In last week’s loss to Auburn, Alabama fell behind 9-0 to start the game and lost by nine points. Wednesday at Missouri, the Tigers jumped out to a 12-0 lead, and even after clawing back in the second half, the Crimson Tide went on to lose by 12 points.
“We’ve got to have better starts,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “And the one common denominator has been those four fifth-year guys in the starting lineup. And they’re all great kids that want to perform well, and they’re down on themselves. So it’s not like they need me to pile on. So it’s not like they need me to pile on they need to make sure that they’re fresh and ready to go and shot out of the cannon tomorrow, and I’m hoping that’s what we see tomorrow.”
Oats said Friday’s practice was the lightest all year with the goal of recharging his players mentally and physically. Maybe all that’s needed to prevent another fast start for the opponent is just a reset.
