No. 4 Alabama got a big bounce back win on the road Saturday in Lexington 102-97 over Kentucky.
It was a game of runs from both sides throughout the afternoon that culminated into a tied game at 81 with five minutes to go. That was until Alabama came away with the final run of the game. The Crimson Tide went on a 9-0 run with the help of made 3-pointers from guards Chris Youngblood and Labaron Philon.
The run gave Alabama a 90-81 lead and set the Crimson Tide up for free throw shooting in clutch time. The Crimson Tide made 12 out its 13 free throw attempts in the final 2:03 of the game to shut the door on the Wildcats.
“Our offense showed up a lot better than it did against Ole Miss on Tuesday. I thought our defense was pretty good for large stretches against a pretty good offensive team,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said of his team’s performance.
Alabama forward Grant Nelson set the tone early in the game as he scored 19 points in the first half. Nelson shot 6-for-10 from the court in the first half, including converting on two of his five 3-point attempts. In the second half, Nelson grabbed seven rebounds that helped prevent Kentucky from going on a big run.
“I thought he was aggressive,” Oats said of Nelson’s performance. “He got downhill, he attacked them. We could use that out of him every game. His two threes he had early, they were big.”
After Alabama head coach Nate Oats called out his team for lack of effort following Tuesday’s loss to Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide players brought the effort into Saturday’s game, including in the rebounding category. Alabama out rebounded Kentucky 42-38, but it was the offensive rebounds that were much improved from the previous game.
Alabama secured 15 offensive rebounds after getting just four offensive rebounds against Ole Miss. The offensive boards proved to be a difference against Kentucky as the Crimson Tide converted its offensive rebounds to 15 second chance points.
The offense was back to what Alabama is used to this season. The Crimson Tide shot 45% percent for the game converting on 30 of its 67 shot attempts. Alabama was up and down from the 3-point range throughout the game. After starting the game 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, the Crimson Tide then missed 12 consecutive, but finished the game making nine of its final 17 attempts.
Alabama point guard Mark Sears scored 24 points, including making four 3-pointers. Guard Labaron Philon found himself back on the scoreboard Saturday. Philon scored 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting as he hit three of his five shots from long range and added three offensive rebounds to his total.
“Labaron spent some time in the gym and he goes three of five from three. It’s not rocket science, if you spend time in the gym, you make shots and if you spend time in the gym you make your free throws,” Oats said.
Part of the reason for another triple digit output for Alabama was the difference in the turnover column. After turning the ball over 21 times on Tuesday, Alabama cut that number in half Saturday, finishing the game with 10 turnovers. The turnover improvement led to Alabama putting up 20 more shots in the game compared to the game against Ole Miss.
Alabama’s win was the first win over an AP Top-10 Kentucky squad on the road since 2002 and it was the Crimson Tide’s third victory over a team ranked in the top 10 this season.
“We came in with the right mindset and guys made sure we got a win whatever it took,” Oats said.
Up next, Alabama will return back to Tuscaloosa for a home game against Vanderbilt on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide and the Commodores will tip off at 6 p.m. CT.
