Kentucky Topples Alabama, Puts up 117 Points

For both Alabama and Kentucky’s men’s basketball teams, their seasons have been predicated on the immense success of their offense. Coming into Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup, Alabama ranked first in the country in points per game with 91, while Kentucky came in at third with 87.6 per game. Where concerns lie for both of these squads is in their defensive capabilities, and for Bama especially, that concern became a glaring issue to address when they gave up a whopping 117 points to the Kentucky Wildcats. The first half was highly competitive and featured a plethora of shot-makers from both teams. The Crimson Tide held a 29-28 lead halfway through the first half, but the Wildcats responded by going on a 20-2 run over the next six minutes and took a 16-point lead into the half. Kentucky scored 58 points and shot 65% from the floor and 58% from deep, while guard Justin Edwards was perfect from the field. 

The second half was much of the same, with Kentucky’s offensive firepower being too much to keep up with for Bama. The game was never closer than a 14-point game in the second half, with the Wildcats’s lead reaching 37 with eight minutes remaining to put the game away. The aforementioned Justin Edwards finished with 28 points on 10/10 from the field, 4/4 from the three-point line, and 5/5 from the free-throw line. Kentucky had four players who recorded 16+ points, and no player had to play more than 32 minutes. Alabama was led by guards Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen, who put up 20 and 21 points, respectively. The Tide cannot be unhappy with their offensive output, as they scored 95 points of their own on 57% from the floor. 

Kentucky improves to 19-8, and 9-5 in SEC conference play which leaves them at sixth in the standings with just four games remaining on the schedule. The Wildcats will head to Starkville, MS on Tuesday to battle the Mississippi Bulldogs, who are currently riding a four-game winning streak but still have their tournament prospects hanging on by a thread. Alabama drops to 19-8 which matches Kentucky, but the Tide are 11-3 in conference action and still hold the top seed in the SEC standings. Up next for Bama is a road bout against Ole Miss before an enormous game in Tuscaloosa on Saturday against Tennessee.