The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in Coleman Coliseum by a score of 96-83, to complete a season sweep over the Cats two games to zero. The win was coach Nate Oats; 26th over a top 25 team, breaking the school record of 25 by former coach Wimp Sanderson. Oats is in his 6th season while Sanderson was the top man for 12 years.
The Tide started Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson, and Clifford Omoruyi for the second straight game. When Omoruyi made a dunk to open the scoring, Bama led for the first time since beating Texas in Austin three games ago. However, the lead did not last, nor did the starting lineup. Oats made eight substitutions in the first 2 minutes, saying after the game “going forward we have zero tolerance for lack of effort, and you will be taken out when it happens.” As for the lead, Kentucky surged put to a 20-9 lead behind some hot shooting.
‘The Tide started a comeback when Sears hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 20-14 with 12:47 left in the half. Aden Holloway hit a long shot from behind the arc, followed by two free throws from Sears and a driving hoop for Mo Dioubate. Two Jarin Stevenson free throws and another long range dagger by Holloway recaptured the lead for the Tide at 33-32 with 5:08 remaining. Dioubate made another hoop down low and Omoruyi made a pair of free throws to build a 42-34 lead with 3:17 left in the half. Holloway nailed another from long range for a 47-38 lead. UK scored down low, and on a full court drive Dioubate couldn’t get a layup to fall, keeping the game at 47-40 in the Tide’s favor heading into the half.
In the first half the Tide shot 17-35 for 49%, including 5-19 from three for 26%, while making 8-9 free throws. Bama collected 26 rebounds, dished out eight assists, blocked four shots, stole two balls, and committed seven turnovers. Sears led the way with 15 points, two assists, and a steal. Holloway was 4-8 from three point range and scored 12 points. Omoruyi was close to a double-double in the half with eight points and a like number of rebounds.
The same starters came out for the second half. Sears scored eight points in the first eight minutes, keeping Bama in the lead 63-58 with 12:27 left. Holloway made the lead six with two free throws at the 8:05 mark and a pair of three pointers by Youngblood pushed the lead out to 83-70 with 4:24 remaining. Nelson had a dunk and later a free throw to keep the margin at 10 points with three minutes left. Sears and Youngblood added more makes from three point range, and Omoruyi closed the scoring with an empathetic dunk and a much needed 96-83 win.
In the second half the Tide heated up and shot 15-26 for 58% from the field, including 6-12 from deep, while making 13-16 free throws. Overall Bama shot 32-61 for 53%, 11-31 for 36% from deep, and 21-25 at the charity stripe for 84%. Player of the game, Sears, had his second straight 30 point game with four rebounds, four assists, a pair of steals, and only two turnovers. Holloway added 19, making 5-12 from three point range and had four rebounds, and two assists. Youngblood heated up late and scored 14 points, while Omoruyi had a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Kentucky shot 40% in the second half, making 14 of 35 shots, with only 3-11 from three point range, and added 12-13 at the free throw line. Overall the Cats shot 29-68 for 43%, 9-26 for 27% from deep, and 16-22 at the free throw line. The Wildcats had 35 rebounds, 14 assists, two blocks, 13 steals, and committed 13 turnovers. Koby Brea led the Cats with 20 points, Amari Williams scored 17 points and rebounded 11 misses. Andrew Carr had 17 of his own. Travis Perry also finished in double figures with 12 points.
This was a big bounce-back win for Alabama after two straight disappointing losses. Everything is still in front of the Tide, as they are in the hunt for a SEC title and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Bama was able to dig themselves out of an early hole with an increased effort on defense, some hot shooting from Holloway, and the return of last season’s Sears. Sears now has back to back 30 point games. After the game Oats said “Mark is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play, on both sides of the ball, since he has been here”. Omoruyi has come alive on the boards as of late, and is starting to become the force down low that the Tide faithful have been clamoring for. With four games left, the Tide needs to finish strong to try and stay on the one line for NCAA seeding.
Next up for Alabama is a home game with Mississippi State at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The game will be televised on ESPN2/ESPNU.
Roll Tide.
