No. 4 Alabama basketball faced No. 8 Kentucky on Saturday at Rupp Arena in a coaching battle between Nate Oats and Mark Pope.

The Crimson Tide bounced back from a loss at home to Ole Miss on Tuesday by scoring 100-plus points for the fifth time this season.

The Wildcats and Crimson Tide, both ranked among the top 10 in the two major polls (the USA TODAY Coaches and the Associated Press) square off today at Rupp Arena. They double as the two highest-scoring teams in the SEC: Alabama is tied for first nationally (alongside Iowa) at 89.

The No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats host the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in college basketball action on Saturday, Jan. 18.

Nate Oats met with his team Thursday and didn’t leave room for interpretation. The message, fresh off an abysmal home loss to Ole Miss: Alabama men’s basketball would go into Rupp Arena and get the victory over Kentucky. By any means necessary. Oats even gave an ultimatum of sorts.

The power of the SEC shines again early Saturday as the 4th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide visit the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats for a top-10 matchup in Lexington.

Especially a team like Alabama (15-3), who had a 10-57 away record against the Wildcats until picking up its 11th road victory on Saturday. Oats proved that Alabama could win in the stomping grounds of the eight-time national champions,

In the end, Alabama secured the win 102 to 97. The game not only marked the Wildcats' first loss against a top-15 ranked opponent this season, but also marked the team's first home loss of the season. UK is now 14-4 overall, and 3-2 in conference play.

What channel is Kentucky basketball vs Alabama on today? Here's how to watch, time, TV schedule, streaming info and odds for the SEC basketball game.

Lamont Butler, in UK basketball's game vs Alabama at Rupp Arena, played with the toughness Mark Pope is trying to instill in his Kentucky Wildcats.

Nate Oats thinks Crimson Tide fans will see a "different team" on Saturday. Score updates, highlights and how to watch Alabama basketball vs Kentucky.