TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama bounced back and ended its two-game skid as it came away with a 96-83 victory over No. 17 Kentucky.
It seemed that the game was going to go in the wrong direction as the Wildcats started the game with a 30-18 start and made four of their first six shots from long range. Another slow start could have been costly, but the Alabama offense woke up.
The Crimson Tide finished the half out scoring Kentucky 29-10 over the final 9:20 of the first half. Alabama’s offense did not let up in the second half as it kept its foot on the gas, taking the lead up to 15 in the late stages of the second half and gave Alabama its 22nd win of the season.
“We got to clean up the turnovers, got to still clean up the defense a little bit, but it was significantly better than the Missouri game,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.
The Alabama offense was the story of the night. The Crimson Tide were led by point guard Mark Sears and guard Aden Holloway. Sears recorded his second consecutive game with 30 or more points as the senior put up 30 points on 8-for-17 shooting and capitalized on all 11 of his free throw attempts.
“The home crowd was amazing and they showed unbelievable energy and I feel like we played with that throughout the game,” Sears said. “Shout out to my teammates because they found me when I was open and in the right places.”
Holloway had himself a day as well for Alabama. The Auburn transfer finished with 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including hitting five 3-pointers. Guard Chris Youngblood also made a notable contribution to the offense. Youngblood added 14 points to Alabama’s total as he cashed in on three of his five shots from behind the arc.
As a whole, the offense hit its season average of 90 points and then some. The Crimson Tide shot 53% for the game and 36% from 3-point land. Alabama found its way to the free throw line early and often, making 84% of its 25 free throw attempts.
While Alabama lost the turnovers battle with 15 turnovers compared to 13 from Kentucky, it was the Crimson Tide who took advantage of the turnovers. Alabama was +13 in points off turnovers, out scoring Kentucky 24-11.
Alabama shut down Kentucky star guard Otega Oweh. Oweh entered the game averaging 16.2 points per game and scored 21 points in the first meeting between Alabama and Kenutcky, but scored just two points off a dunk and fouled out with 6:49 remaining in the game.
“I thought we did a pretty good job. I think we’ve got enough versatility on defense, and if our guys would get locked into the scouting report and play with max effort, we should be a significantly better defensive team than what we’ve shown,” Oats said.
Alabama guard Labaron Philon was back in the starting lineup. Oats said the idea behind it was to create more shots for Sears.
“I just told him [Sears] we needed him to trust Labaron like he did Aaron Estrada last year and you’re going to score more points on fewer shots,” Oats said.
With Texas A&M losing to Tennessee earlier in the day, Alabama’s win gives itself a two-game buffer over the Volunteers and Aggies, who are tied for fifth, as Alabama moves one step closer to securing a two-day bye in the SEC Tournament.
Up next, Alabama will stay home during the week as the Crimson Tide will get a rematch with Mississippi State on Tuesday. Alabama won the first matchup on Jan. 29 88-84 in a shootout between Youngblood and Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard. Alabama and Mississippi State will tip off at 8 p.m. CT.
