Alabama got 21 points from Labaron Philon, 16 from Jarin Stevenson, and never trailed throughout a demolition of Kentucky on Friday night to reach the SEC Tournament semifinals.
The Crimson Tide (25-7, 13-5 SEC) led by just 4 points after an Amari Williams jumper with 2:05 to play in the first half. Over the final 22 minutes of the game, Alabama outscored Kentucky 61-34. In the second half, Alabama ripped Kentucky apart in spurts, breaking off scoring runs of 10-2, 7-0, and 9-0.
“We earned the double bye, which helped us tonight. Kentucky played last night. They didn’t look as fresh as we did,” coach Nate Oats said after the game. “We were able to build the lead up. Nobody played more than 30. … Nice to be able to get some rest for our guys tonight.”
Kentucky was without Lamont Butler, who injured his shoulder on Thursday against Oklahoma. That left the Kentucky rotation, which was already thinned out by injuries to Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa, in a bind. Otega Oweh took a shot to the face in the first half and needed stitches; he played just 21 minutes and shot 1-for-6 from the field with 5 turnovers.
Philon’s 21 points came in 26 minutes. He made 8 of his 14 shots. Stevenson shot 6-of-8 and made 3 of his 5 triples. Mouhamed Dioubate had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. In a game where Mark Sears was just 5 of 17 from the field and Grant Nelson was limited to 16 minutes by foul trouble, Alabama’s role players stepped up in major ways.
But Alabama’s defense might have been the story of the game. The Tide held Kentucky to 5-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc and just 38% for the game. The Tide forced 16 turnovers and those directly led to 29 Alabama points.
“We wanted to turn up our defensive intensity. Thought we did (with) all our ball pressure. The official box score has us 29 points off turnovers. I think our ball pressure caused them some problems,” Oats said. “Our plan was to try to keep them off of transition, keep them off the 3-point line, pressure them on defense. On offense, I thought we could attack them a little bit better downhill than we had in the past.”
After Koby Brea supplied 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Kentucky’s opening game at the SEC Tournament, Alabama held him to just 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting Friday night. He and Oweh scored 49 points against Oklahoma, then just 16 against the Tide.
Andrew Carr was the only Wildcat who found consistent success Friday night. He had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Williams (16 points, 7 boards, 4 assists) and Travis Perry (11 points) were the only other Kentucky players to crack double digits.
Alabama will face No. 4 Florida on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in the semifinals. The Tide will be looking for a third SEC Tournament title appearance in 5 seasons.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
