Nate Oats said it as simply as one could.

“Kentucky,” he said Friday afternoon of the unranked Wildcats, “is obviously Kentucky.”

By noon CT Saturday, the bluest of SEC basketball bloods will meet one of the emerging challengers.

The Wildcats (10-4, 1-1 SEC) have played one of the nation’s most challenging schedules while losing four of the five games they’ve played away from Rupp Arena. For a change, John Calipari’s roster is more veteran than Alabama’s and brings the reigning national player of the year to Coleman Coliseum. This Kentucky team has an average of 2.25 years of Division I experience next to the 1.49 for the Crimson Tide, according to KenPom.com.

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And while there’s discontent in Lexington, Oats’ overarching message entering Saturday’s game is the power this Wildcat program will bring to Tuscaloosa.

It begins and ends with Oscar Tshiebwe, a rare national player of the year who returned to school. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward, averaging 16.8 points and 13.8 rebounds, has been on a particular tear the past three games. He made 77% of his 30 shots while averaging 22.0 points and 16 rebounds a game in that span.

A year ago, the Wildcats beat Alabama twice after a Tide sweep the previous season. Tshiebwe went for 21 points and 14 rebounds in a 90-81 win in Lexington after struggling in Tuscaloosa. He made 4 of 13 shots while scoring 10 points in a 66-55 Kentucky win.

“We definitely have a plan,” said Charles Bediako, the Alabama center who’ll be charged with guarding Tshiebwe. “Obviously but it’s going to take everybody to win this game but we have a good plan.”

Oats was equally reluctant to speak much on the specifics but noted Bediako has experience guarding three of the best big men in the nation this season. Improved glasswork will clearly be part of the plan after Ole Miss became the first to out-rebound the national leader in Tuesday’s 84-62 win.

Tshiebwe, the individual national rebounding leader, will offer a stiff challenge.

Kentucky also brings an improved perimeter shooting game after slumping there in recent seasons. Its 39.0% success rate from long-range ranks 13th nationally, a step forward after making 34.7% a year ago (117th in Division I).

Behind Tshiebwe, three others are scoring in double figures in Cason Wallace (12.9), Jacob Toppin (11.5) and Antonio Reeves (11.1). Toppin, a 6-9 senior, scored 20-plus in each of the past two wins while making 19 of 28 shots. That 68% shooting from the field is a step above his 45% season average.

That said, Alabama is a 5.5-point favorite in Las Vegas with a 70% chance of winning, according to KenPom. Oats, however, is a long way from staking any claims in this series.

“It’s still Kentucky,” he said. “You’d have to do this year after year after year. I think people’s memory gets shorter here, like, Kentucky is Kentucky. They’ve been doing it for multiple years, especially since Cal took over. We won the SEC two years ago but we were middle of the pack last year and was middle of the pack the year before.

“We’re going to have to do this for multiple years in a row for people to look at us the way they look at Kentucky, to be honest you.”

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.