No. 4 Alabama overcame a slow start against No. 17 Kentucky before rolling to a 96-83 victory vs. the short-handed Wildcats inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday. Kentucky led by as many as 12 in the first half before Alabama outscored the road team 78-53 the rest of the way for the Crimson Tide’s second victory vs. UK this season .
The Crimson Tide (22-5, 11-3 SEC) were coming off back-to-back losses over Auburn and Missouri. The win moves Alabama into a second-place tie with Florida in the SEC standings. The Crimson Tide are two games back of first place with four regular season games remaining. Alabama still has a second showdown with No. 1 Auburn during the final weekend of the regular season.
Bracketology: Tennessee faces Texas A&M in battle of No. 2 seeds who could move up if a top-line team falls
Jerry Palm
Crimson Tide star guard Mark Sears scored 30 points less than three days after dropping a season-high 35 in a 110-98 loss to Missouri. Alabama guard Aden Holloway scored 19 points off the bench and big man Cliff Omoruyi (11 points, 15 rebounds) recorded his first double-double in a Crimson Tide uniform.
Kentucky (18-9, 7-7) was playing shorthanded without guards Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson in the lineup. Butler, the former San Diego State star considered one of the Wildcats’ top two-way players, has been dealing with a shoulder injury and hasn’t played since re-aggravating the injury during a win over Tennessee earlier this month.
Kentucky star Otega Oweh logged only 22 minutes due to foul trouble and fouled out with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. Koby Brea scored a team-high 20 points and big man Amari Williams (17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists) logged a double-double.
Alabama continues its stretch against ranked opponents Tuesday at home against Mississippi State. Meanwhile, Kentucky faces Oklahoma on Wednesday before having a date with No. 1 Auburn at home next weekend.
Mark Sears stepped up when Alabama needed him
Alabama is going to go as far as Sears takes them. That was the narrative coming into the season and it remains true today. When Sears is on his A-game, he is still one of the best players in the country. Less than a month after getting benched during the second half against LSU, Sears put together two of his best-scoring performances of the season this week. Sears scored 35 points in a loss to Missouri and followed it up by dropping 30 in the win over Kentucky. Alabama has one of the deepest rosters in the sport, with plenty of guard talent. But the key to making a run next month and getting back to the Final Four starts with Sears. That was evident this week.
Kentucky is a different team without Butler
If it wasn’t obvious already, Kentucky misses having Butler in the starting lineup. The Wildcats have been without Butler and Robinson the last few games and fellow point guard Kerr Kriisa for most of the season. Butler completely changes this Kentucky team on both ends for the better. Butler is an incredible defender who can also get a bucket. His absence was heightened because Oweh was in foul trouble during the second half and fouled out with less than seven minutes left. Even though Kentucky has shown they can punch up with a shorthanded lineup in place, beating Alabama without Butler on the road proved to be too much.
Alabama will have opportunities to hold on to a No. 1 seed
CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm had Alabama, Duke, Auburn and Florida as No. 1 seeds heading into the weekend. With Tennessee and Houston picking up wins over ranked teams on Saturday, the race for who will earn No. 1 seeds next month will be interesting. Auburn and Duke are in prime positions to earn a top seed (assuming they win their respective leagues), but after that, the other two spots could be up for grabs.
Alabama is in the middle of a brutal stretch to close out the season. The Crimson Tide will play four top-21 opponents (Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn) to close out the regular season. The end of the schedule doesn’t even account for potential SEC Tournament games against ranked teams. The bottom line: Alabama will have plenty of opportunities to shore up its résumé before Selection Sunday.
