In a state entrenched in football tradition, Nate Oats and Bruce Pearl have transformed the Tide and Tigers to the two best teams in college basketball.

The Crimson Tide and Wildcats were engulfed in a three-team SEC race with Tennessee when Kentucky rolled into Memorial (now Coleman) Coliseum on this late-January Saturday. Alabama big man Ricky Brown fouled out in the final two minutes, and Kentucky cashed in four straight free throws to clinch the victory.

Offensively, Alabama's offense is largely predicated on the three-point shot, averaging 10.3 triples per game. Auburn's defense allows just six three-pointers made per game, the best mark in the SEC. The Tigers' defense allows an effective field goal percentage of 45.2 percent, the 10th-best in Division I.