When it rains it pours — or in Alabama basketball’s case, it snows. After suffering its second straight defeat at Missouri on Wednesday, the Crimson Tide was forced to spend an extra snowy day on the road due to plane troubles.

The extended trip led to a light week of practice, as the team didn’t work out on Thursday before taking it easier than usual on Friday. Head coach Nate Oats is hoping that break in action will give his team the boost it needs as it prepares for what feels like a must-win game against Kentucky on Saturday.

No. 4 Alabama (21-5, 10-3) is looking to get back in the SEC regular-season title race while also hoping to hold onto its projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, injury-riddled No. 17 Kentucky (18-8, 7-6) is trying to finish off the regular season in one piece.

The two teams faced off earlier this season, as the Tide outlasted the Wildcats in a 102-97 thriller inside Rupp Arena. Alabama will be looking to beat Kentucky twice in the same regular season for the first time since 2021.

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s game.

Who: No. 4 Alabama (21-5, 10-3 SEC) vs. No. 17 Kentucky (18-8, 7-6)

When: 5 p.m. CT, Saturday, Feb. 22

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Watch: ESPN (Play-By-Play: Karl Ravech, Analyst: Jimmy Dykes, Analyst: Dick Vitale)

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: 18.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.8 apg, 40.9% FG, 35.2% 3-pt

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

Stats: 9.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 42.4% FG, 34.8% 3-pt

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

Stats: 10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 45.9% FG, 29.4% 3-pt

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

Stats: 12.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 54.2% FG, 26.5% 3-pt

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

Stats: 7.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 71.7% FG

Travis Perry: 6-foot-1, 188 pounds, freshman

Stats: 2.3 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.5 apg, 35.4% FG, 41.2% 3-pt

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

Stats: 16.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 49.5% FG, 33.9% 3-pt

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

Stats: 10.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.1 apg, 46.3% FG, 44.9% 3-pt

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

Stats: 9.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 53.2% FG, 28.6% 3-pt

Amari Williams: 7-foot, 262 pounds, graduate

Stats: 10.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 59.2% FG, 33.3% 3pt

The Wildcats’ high-flying offense won’t have the same bite as it did when Alabama bested Kentucky in a shootout during a 102-97 victory inside Rupp Arena last month. Kentucky guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson where both listed as out on the SEC-mandated injury report released Friday night, leaving the Wildcats without their second and third-highest scorers for Saturday’s game against Alabama.

Butler missed Kentucky’s last two games after re-aggravating a shoulder injury during a game against Tennessee on Feb. 11. The graduate point guard has started all 19 games he’s played in this season. He’s leading the Wildcats with 4.6 assists per game while averaging 12.5 points on 50.9% shooting from the floor and 38.5% shooting from deep.

Robinson has been out since suffering a wrist injury during Kentucky’s game against South Carolina on Feb. 8. The graduate guard is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game on 43.2% shooting, including 38.1% from deep.

Kentucky is also without fifth-year guard Kerr Kriisa, who started one game over nine appearances before suffering a foot injury that required surgery in December.

During his Friday press conference, Oats sympathized with first-year Kentucky head coach Mark Pope while praising him for how he’s navigated his team through setbacks this season.

“I don’t know the last time he’s had everybody fully available,” Oats said. “I think Kriisa is obviously done for the year like [Latrell Wrightsell] is done for the year for us. So I don’t count Wrightsell when I count full available, kind of like I don’t count Kriisa. But I don’t know the last time [Pope’s] had everybody, not including Kriisa even. … When they’ve been healthy, they’ve been one of the best teams in the country.”

Kentucky went 1-1 the past week without Butler and Robinson, losing on the road at Texas before beating Vanderbilt at home. Butler has been replaced by freshman point guard Travis Perry, while graduate guard Koby Brea has filled in for Robinson in the starting lineup.

“Even now, with all the injuries that they’ve had, they’ve kind of galvanized themselves,” Oats said of Kentucky. “[Pope’s] playing guys who weren’t in the rotation at all before, and I think they’re playing really hard for him. He seems like a guy that guys want to play hard for. I think he’s doing a great job.”

Alabama has had its fair share of injuries this season as well. The tide lost starting guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. to a season-ending Achilles injury in late November. Alabama also appears to be pursuing a medical redshirt for Houston Mallette after the Pepperdine transfer has struggled with lingering knee issues. Freshman Derrion Reid will also miss the game against Kentucky due to a lingering hamstring injury.

Oats is a numbers man, but Alabama’s dip in performance has led to a few unexplainable stats for the head coach. One of those was presented to him Friday, as a reporter questioned him about his team’s 39.2% shooting from beyond the arc on the road compared to its 29.7% mark inside Coleman Coliseum.

“You know what, I don’t have a great answer for that,” Oats said. “There’s some theories we’ve talked about a little bit. One of them may be, sometimes less is more. When we’re at home guys are able to get in the gym a bunch, they get their shooting time in the morning, they come back early before the game. We chart how much they do it, some of our guys are putting too many miles on their legs before a game starts at home. Some of our guys need to eliminate some of the shooting time in the afternoon and just get their legs up under them, that’s one theory.”

Alabama’s home woes could also be a mental thing. Oats stated that his team might be sparked by hostile environments, leading to better play on the court. Regardless, the Tide will need to shake off its Coleman rust Saturday if it wants to hang with a hot-shooting Kentucky team.

“I don’t know which it is, maybe it’s neither of those two, but we’re gonna try to address both,” Oats said. “They need to get themselves to just lose themselves in the game and make sure we’re not overdoing the wear and tear on our bodies on gameday just because we have access to a gym.”

Alabama’s been here before. When the Tide traveled to Kentucky last month, it was coming off an ugly first SEC loss Ole Miss. Back then, Oats delivered a spirited message to his team as they boarded the plane.

“By any means necessary,” Oats recalled of his speech to the players. “And if you don’t plan on getting the win, just pack all your stuff, because you don’t plan on coming back with us.”

Oats joked that not all the words at that time could be repeated in front of cameras. Fortunately for him, the message sunk into his players, who beat the Wildcats, 102-97, to spark a seven-game winning streak.

Oats didn’t publically provide any threats to his players on Friday, but there was still a sense of urgency when addressing Saturday’s matchup, as the Tide looks to snap a two-game skid against the Wildcats.

“We gotta come out like we’ve got our hair on fire,” Oats said. “Like the season’s riding on the line. Because there’s a lot still riding on this game. It’s NCAA Tournament seeding. It’s SEC tournament seeding. It’s giving yourself a chance to still be in it if things fall certain ways at the end of the year.”

— This will be Oats’ third straight chance at setting Alabama’s program record with 26 wins over Associated Press top 25 opponents. He is currently tied with Wimp Sanderson for most such wins.

— A win over Kentucky would give Alabama its eighth AP top-25 victory, setting a new single-season program record.

— Kentucky has five wins over AP top-10 teams this season.

— The Wildcats have limited their opponents to 19.3 percent from 3-point range over their last four games.

— Kentucky’s Otega Oweh is the only player in the SEC to reach double-figure scoring in every game this season. He is one of 10 Division I players to accomplish the feat.

— Kentucky forward Amari Williams is averaging 40.8 PAR per 40 minutes, the fifth most by any Division I player.