No. 4 Alabama men’s basketball returned to the win column Saturday night, defeating No. 17 Kentucky 96-83 and sweeping the season series versus the Wildcats.
This comes after back-to-back losses versus ranked SEC teams in No. 1 Auburn and No. 15 Missouri.
Kentucky got off to a hot start, converting 4/6 from the 3-point line in the first 4:41 of the half to take a 16-9 lead. Kentucky’s start was similar to Missouri’s 6/8 start from downtown versus the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night.
“I was really amped up at the beginning of the game,” head coach Nate Oats said. “We needed a better start.”
Guard Mark Sears got his team going with a hard-nosed sequence that featured a 3-pointer, a euro-step layup and a drawn charge to kick off a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 20-16 at the under-12-minute media timeout.
“This was not our best defensive performance tonight, and Mark Sears had a lot to do with that,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said.
The teams traded runs out of the timeout, with Kentucky sporting a pair of 5-0 streaks and Alabama going on a 9-0 run to get the score to 30-27 with 7:18 left in the half.
Less than two minutes later, Alabama took its first lead since the score was 2-0 off a tough layup from forward Jarin Stevenson, part of a 20-4 Crimson Tide onslaught.
“I feel like we changed it around very quick,” Sears said.
It didn’t end there. The Crimson Tide ended the half outscoring the Wildcats 29-10, taking a 47-40 lead into the locker room after finding itself down as many as 12 in the period.
Alabama came out of the break hot, getting out to a 53-42 lead with 17:13 left, but the Wildcats responded by scoring 7 straight, positioning themselves within striking distance of the Crimson Tide. The score was 53-49 with 15:49 remaining.
The game was fairly even for the next few minutes as Alabama outscored Kentucky 12-11 for the next 5:27 of play, taking a 65-60 lead into the under-12 timeout.
A steal and fastbreak dunk from Alabama guard Labaron Philon got the crowd pumped, but the score remained tight as the midway point of the half passed. Alabama led 70-66 with 8:18 left.
Momentum began to trend in the Crimson Tide’s direction after it took a double-digit lead and Kentucky’s leading scorer for the season, guard Otega Oweh, fouled out of the game. The margin stretched to 80-68 with 5:58 left in the game.
The Wildcats attempted to climb back into the game with a made 3 from guard Collin Chandler, but the door was slammed shut by back-to-back Alabama triples that put the game out of reach. Fans began to rattle their keys throughout the crowd as the scoreboard read 94-79 with 1:11 left.
Center Clifford Omoruyi put the exclamation point on the game with a dunk to extend the lead to 13 and end the game.
Oats attributed the win to not only an efficient offensive performance, but a defensive effort that was “as good as we’ve seen.”
Pope echoed this sentiment, calling the Crimson Tide a “terrific defensive team.”
Oats was also proud of the team’s overall effort, noting that he and the staff had been challenging players in that department.
“Proud of the effort,” Oats said. “There’s levels to this thing. We can be giving an eight or a nine. We need a 10. We just challenged the guys, and I thought they responded well.”
Sears was the Crimson Tide’s leading scorer by far with a game-high 30 points, his second consecutive game with 30-plus points. He also brought down four rebounds and dished out four assists.
“Sears is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play since I’ve been here,” Oats said.
Holloway scored 19 points, with five of his six field goals coming from 3. Guard Chirs Youngblood had 14 points due to 3/5 shooting from downtown.
Omoruyi was key to success for Alabama, dropping a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds. When he scores at least 10 points, the Crimson Tide is 8-0.
“I thought it was a great game out of Cliff tonight,” Oats said. “This is the best he’s played all year.”
It will be a quick turnaround for the Crimson Tide as it looks ahead to Tuesday’s rematch versus No. 21 Mississippi State in Coleman Coliseum. The game will be at 8 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN2.
