No. 24 Alabama Basketball Thrashes Kentucky, 85-65
It’s been quite the 24 hours for the University of Alabama.
After the football team won its 18th national championship on Monday, the No. 24-ranked basketball team went on the road to Rupp Arena and thrashed the Kentucky Wildcats, 85-65.
"It's a big win for our program,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said postgame. “Really happy for our seniors that have been here...
“Kentucky is a little bit down this year, but they're still Kentucky. They've got pros on that team."
It was the first win for the Crimson Tide in Lexington since the 2005-2006 season. For the Wildcats, it was the largest home loss in the John Calipari era.
Three-pointers from forward Jordan Bruner and wing Herb Jones helped Alabama get off to a fast start in the first half with an 8-2 advantage.
Devin Askew tied the contest up at 17 for the Wildcats with a jumper, but moments before that Alabama’s best defender, Jones, went down with a hand/finger injury near the midway point of the first quarter and didn’t return.
“From what I've heard it's not broken,” Oats said of Jones’ injury. “But he's going to be out for awhile. Hand injury.”
However, the Crimson Tide continued its hot shooting from beyond-the-arc, making 10-of-22 in the opening 20 minutes.
Alabama led 42-30 at intermission behind guard John Petty Jr.’s 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting including three makes from three-point range.
Guard Jaden Shackelford was the other member of the Crimson Tide in double-figures in the first period with 10 points and two made three-pointers
The Wildcats only made two of its final 14 shot attempts in the first half. The Crimson Tide’s defense held them to 32 percent from the field during that stretch.
Despite being short-handed with no Jones or guard Jahvon Quinerly, who missed his third-consecutive game with an undisclosed medical condition, Alabama saw its lead extend by as many 20 in the second period.
Bruner also exited the game with an apparent knee injury halfway through the final 20 minutes. The Yale transfer left with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Oats said that Bruner will be evaluated on Wednesday in Birmingham and hopes for an update then.
Petty added 10 more points to finish with a game-high 23 on 9-of-15 shooing. He also grabbed five rebounds and two assists.
“Even though Herb went out, we've still got leadership on this team,” Petty said. “It was just a collective effort. Everybody holding everyone accountable and reacting to adversity."
Alabama’s Josh Primo was the third double-digit scorer with 12 points and two boards.
Despite losing the battle on the glass 44-36, it was the three-point shooting and turnovers that made the difference against the Wildcats.
Kentucky turned the ball over 19 times to the Crimson Tide’s 11 and only converted four three-pointers to the visitors’ 14.
Freshman forward Isaiah Jackson led the Wildcats with a team-high 14 points, sinking eight shots from the charity stripe.
Askew poured in 12 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists as Kentucky fell to 4-7 (3-1 SEC) on the year.
Alabama now has sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference at 10-3 (4-0 SEC) after winning its last six games, including road victories at Tennessee and Auburn.
Next up is a meeting with Arkansas inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m (CT) on the SEC Network.
“Not one of our players played well,” Calipari said. “I obviously didn’t coach well. But what I told them after is I’m going to find five guys who will fight and that’s who I’m going to play. We got beat every which way...
"I'm not even sure I'll watch this tape."
