Alabama swept the regular season two-game series with Kentucky but the Cats get another crack at the Tide tonight in the SEC Tournament's quarterfinal round

Cats Illustrated writers share takes and picks in advance of the contest.

Jeff Drummond: Kentucky gets a third crack at Alabama, and under normal circumstances, I would really like that scenario for the Wildcats. But with Lamont Butler likely out of tonight's game, I don't see UK being able to keep pace with a team that scores like the Crimson Tide. Mark Sears is a tough matchup under any circumstances, but without Butler's on-ball defense, he could be poised for a huge game. In order to win this game, the Cats have to splash at least a dozen 3-pointers and hope that Bama has an off-night. The Crimson Tide notches a rare three-game season sweep of UK, winning 95-84.

Travis Graf: It’s definitely hard to beat a team three times, but the status of Lamont Butler will determine a lot for this matchup. If they’re at full go, I think I’d actually take the Cats here and not think twice. Andrew Carr was great in the last matchup, and Koby Brea scored 20. Otega Oweh played his worst game of the season, and Amari Williams played damn good. This game comes down to Andrew Carr once again at the four spot. If he wins the matchup with Grant Nelson, Kentucky will be in shape to win. If Butler is out, I want to see the plan of attack for Mark Sears defensively. Kentucky gets some timely threes and Andrew Carr has one of his best games as a Cat to go along with a double-double from Amari Williams and a good game from Brandon Garrison in a game where they win the frontcourt battle. Kentucky 94, Alabama 92.

Justin Rowland: As good as Kentucky has been against the best teams this year, it hasn't been good enough the two titans from the Yellowhammer State. The Tide swept the regular season series and Kentucky had difficulty guarding Bama. This is a situation where Kentucky could benefit from having a game under its belt, even yesterday. Fatigue probably hasn't set in too much and they're riding high. They'll need Brea and Oweh to play at a very high level but with Butler's status I can't pick a Kentucky win. Amari Williams needs to be a lot more impactful tonight than he has sometimes been recently. Alabama 92, Kentucky 86.