Kentucky Blown Away by No. 7 Alabama in 78-52 Throttling
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If reality hadn't set in for Kentucky basketball before Saturday afternoon, it has now.
Momentum be-gone for the Wildcats, who suffered their second conference loss of the season in an embarrassing 26-point drubbing at the hands of No. 7 Alabama inside Coleman Coliseum, losing 78-52. Less than 30 percent shooting from the floor, a smattering of miscues and recurring lack of toughness led to perhaps the worst performance of the season for John Calipari's group.
It was so bad, in fact, that the head coach isn't sure he wants to go back and take a peek at his team getting steamrolled on the road for the second time in SEC play:
"That's one I don't know if I want to watch the tape," he sighed upon beginning his postgame press conference. "We screwed up the first half, we did what we wanted to do, but we missed every shot."
Antonio Reeves rummaged for any lingering hint of offense for the Wildcats, adding 20 points, while Sahvir Wheeler compiled 15 of his own, but it wasn't even in the same area code as the Crimson Tide.
From the jump, the Tide asserted their dominance. Charles Bediako and Noah Clowney scored the team's first 11 points, all of which came with ease. A Clowney transition jam sent the rowdy Coleman Coliseum crowd into an early frenzy, forcing Calipari to call a timeout.
Kentucky (10-5, 1-2 SEC) opened the game shooting 2-10, failing to space the floor, reminiscent of the Wildcats' persistent problems that have led to the previous four losses through the first third of the regular season.
After trailing by eight in the early minutes, it would be Wheeler and Reeves — almost solely — trying to drag the lifeless UK offense along, as each guard provided 10 of what was only 24 first-half points for the Cats.
"We missed some easy shots," Wheeler said. "Miscommunications on defense...yeah that's about it."
Cason Wallace rode the pine for 15 minutes in the first period after picking up two personal fouls, while Oscar Tshiebwe put in perhaps his worst-ever half of basketball in a UK uniform, totaling zero points, a pair of rebounds and two turnovers, equaling an atrocious plus-minus of minus-13. He would finish the game with a season-low four points and six rebounds.
Some added energy from Daimion Collins and Adou Thiero off the bench nullified the hot start by the Tide, allowing the Cats to try and settle into the game. Bama (13-2, 3-0) would go on multiple field goal droughts that lasted over three minutes of game time, but Kentucky was unable to take advantage.
Alabama's star freshman Brandon Miller — who entered Saturday averaging over 19 points a game — wouldn't get on the board until the 6:27 mark in the half, and added just seven points in the first 20 minutes.
With the Wildcats wavering, the Tide would close the half on a 14-5 run, taking a 35-24 lead into the break. Things would only get worse for the Wildcats.
A 10-0 run would swell the Bama cushion to 20 in a hurry. Mark Sears contributed eight points on three makes, schooling the UK backcourt.
Kentucky wilted, never even mounting a real comeback attempt in the second half. Tshiebwe and Wallace avoided getting shutout in the points department, but Miller would finally find a groove for the Tide, propelling the lead to nearly 30 thanks to 12 second-half points.
"He's good," Calipari said of Miller. "The biggest thing is, he's consistent when shooting the ball. You got to be aware of where he is, he spaces the court and gives the guards more room to move. He's good...good player."
Alabama coach Nate Oats gave Kentucky the benefit of the doubt, saying "they'll be alright" and that the Wildcats "aren't an NIT team," despite what the student section may have thought. He did however acknowledge that his team may have pushed UK over the edge down the stretch:
"I don't think Kentucky necessarily quit but I think our team tried to make them," he said.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the game, an injury would solidify the abhorrent afternoon in T-Town for Kentucky. After scoring just three points on 1-10 shooting, Jacob Toppin would leave the game, grabbing his arm, seemingly in excruciating pain. He would not return.
Alabama's lead exceeded 30, but it had to settle for a 26-point drubbing, sending Kentucky back to Lexington with a heaping dose of reality.
Oscar Tshiebwe looks embarrassingly human for the first time as a Wildcat
Calipari had trimmed the Cats' rotation, playing just seven in UK's 74-71 win over LSU. It appeared that that was going to be the way forward in SEC play. That would change in a hurry, as almost everybody with a scholarship that was available to play (sorry Brennan Canada) got a look at some point.
Oscar Tshiebwe would play the first four minutes of the first half, but was quickly yanked in favor of Daimion Collins. The reigning National Player of the Year was beaten by Bediako in the post multiple times, unable to do anything on either side of the ball. This would be a theme for the entirety of the game.
Oats had his players triple, quadruple, even quintuple-team the big man, rendering him useless in the paint. All Tshiebwe could do was hold his hands up, hopelessly looking over at the UK bench for answers that Calipari didn't have. For the first time in Tshiebwe's Kentucky career, he was unable to contribute and was even a detriment to the team's success on the floor.
Continuous struggles against better competition
Kentucky has now lost five games on the season and all four of its games against 'Q1' opponents. All of those losses have featured eerily similar issues. The Wildcats can't hang when the going gets tough.
"We all got beat. I got beat and our team did," Calipari stated after the loss.
That's something that could be true for all of Kentucky's mishaps thus far. Add Oats to the list of coaches that have ran circles around Calipari this season when going head-to-head. Add Miller to the list of star players that have given the UK defense bucket after bucket.
Calipari's offerings of patience begin to mean squat when there's no clear signs of improvement, but that remains all that the skipper can present as Oats and the Tide leapfrog the "gold standard."
"Just continue to look at the film, learn from the experience and try to be more prepared the ext time an opportunity like this presents itself," Wheeler said when asked about UK's continued woes.
Luckily for UK — or perhaps unluckily — another big opportunity on the road is on the horizon. Kentucky will return home to take on the SEC basement-dwelling South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday, Jan. 10, before a quick road trip to Rocky Top to take on the Tennessee Volunteers, perhaps the only team that's looked more impressive than the Crimson Tide.
It's unclear where the Wildcats go from here, but all Calipari can do is get back to the Bluegrass and reassess his team.
"All right...a lot of work to do guys."
Indeed.
The Wildcats will return home to welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday, Jan. 10 inside Rupp Arena.
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