Alabama men’s basketball picked up a key victory versus No. 8 Kentucky on the road 102-97 Saturday afternoon. This was the Crimson Tide’s first road win against a top-10 Kentucky team since 2002.
The win avenged Alabama’s 22-point loss in Lexington last season and was a needed response to Tuesday’s loss at home versus Ole Miss.
The first 10 minutes of the game consisted of big runs by both squads. After the Wildcats took a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes, the Crimson Tide responded in a flash with an 11-0 run in less than two minutes.
The teams then traded buckets back and forth until Kentucky put together a 7-0 stretch with 10:31 left in the half, making the score 28-26 in favor of the Wildcats.
A couple of back-and-forth runs from the two teams kept the game close throughout the remainder of the half, resulting in a slight 47-45 lead for Alabama.
Forward Grant Nelson was the story of the first half, scoring 19 points on 6/10 shooting. He contributed greatly to the Crimson Tide’s early success, scoring 8 of the 11 points with a pair of 3-pointers and a fast-break layup.
“Grant Nelson came out ready to go,” head coach Nate Oats said, noting that Nelson made improvements to his 3-point shot after three games without making one from behind the arc.
Physical play by both teams became a major factor as the game progressed. This resulted in a slow in scoring and a rise in defensive stops early in the second half. The score was 56-54 in favor of the Wildcats with 15:29 remaining in the game.
Kentucky piled up seven fouls early in the half, and Alabama took advantage with physical inside play. The Crimson Tide went on a 10-0 run to take a 66-58 lead with 12:33 left on the clock.
The Wildcats cut the score down to 76-72 with 7:54 remaining, but Alabama continued to make shots, keeping Kentucky at arm’s length away on the scoreboard.
Timely makes and high-percentage free throw shooting helped the Crimson Tide pull away for a 5-point victory.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys,” Oats said. “After the poor showing on Tuesday, to bounce back and play the way we did here today.”
Oats said that his team had “the right mindset” going into this game and that he expected them to win.
“After the game Tuesday, I told them that we are going in there, and we are getting a win by any means necessary,” Oats said. “If you’re not planning on getting a win, you ain’t coming back on that plane.”
Oats also acknowledged that his team looked completely different game-to-game over the last week.
“Sometimes you need a loss to learn some lessons,” Oats said. “I tried to study coach Saban and football. You go look at most of his championship teams, they took a loss early, it got them to focus and lock down. I think that loss [Tuesday] got us to focus. This is a completely different team than the one that played Ole Miss.”
Nelson’s productive first half helped him finish as the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. He also came down with 11 rebounds and made nine out of his 10 free throw attempts. This was the most points he’s ever scored in a crimson-and-white uniform.
Guard Mark Sears dropped 24 points and dished out nine assists, and Oats noted that his defense also looked good.
“Sears made a ton of big plays like he always does,” Oats said. “For him to play almost 28 minutes, I thought his defensive effort was pretty good most of the game, too.”
Freshman guard Labaron Philon, who has had issues with scoring of late, put together a solid performance, scoring 15 points.
“He’s been struggling shooting it,” Oats said. “He spent a lot of time in the gym, and he goes 3/5 from 3. It’s not rocket science, you spend time in the gym, you make shots.”
The Crimson Tide will return to action on Tuesday for a home matchup versus Vanderbilt. The game is at 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on SEC Network.