Going into Saturday’s game, Alabama was aware and wary of the diversity of talent possessed by Kentucky. Of course, six UK players had 20 or more points in a game.
So, who do you concentrate the defense on? “You can’t just say you’re going to shut down (Oscar Tshiebwe),” Alabama coach Nate Oats said Friday.
“You’re going to trap and double him every time and leave (Kellan) Grady wide open for threes? That’s going to be a problem.
“It’s going to have to be an overall team effort.”
Kentucky’s 66-55 victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa suggested that needing to defend six was underestimating UK’s abundance of options.
Freshman Daimion Collins came to life in sparking Kentucky to victory. His 10 points had a where-did-that-come-from quality from a player who had scored two points since December. He also made 6 of 6 free throws. That nearly matched his season’s total going into the game: seven of nine. His six rebounds doubled his total since December.
Not all was new. Tshiebwe posted his 17th double-double (and fifth in a row) with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
No. 5 Kentucky improved to 19-4 overall and 8-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Alabama, which was playing its third straight opponent ranked in the top five of The Associated Press top 25 poll, fell to 14-9 overall, 4-6 in the SEC and 5-3 against ranked opponents.
Defense carried Kentucky to victory. Alabama made only 18 of 64 shots. That included a season-low 3 of 30 from 3-point range. For a team that had taken 46.8% of its shots from beyond the arc, defeat was unavoidable.
Alabama’s dynamic guard duo of Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly combined to make only 4 of 22 shots (0 of 10 from 3-point range). The SEC’s most prolific scoring twosome (32.4 points per game on average) combined for only 13 points.
The first half saw Kentucky get off to a poor start and then finish fast. The result was a 33-27 lead at intermission.
Credit could go to substitutes.
After falling behind 9-1 inside the first three minutes, UK coach John Calipari replaced Tshiebwe with Lance Ware. Davion Mintz replaced TyTy Washington.
The difference was telling.
UK made only one of its first eight shots, and just two of the first 12.
Mintz gave Kentucky its first lead. After back-tapping the ball away from an Alabama player, he raced down court and completed a fast break with a throw-down dunk. That put UK ahead 15-14 with 8:56 left in the first half.
The lead changed hands five times inside the next four minutes.
Then Kentucky took charge. After a Keon Ellis 3-pointer put Alabama ahead 21-19 with 5:12 left, the Tide had only one more basket the rest of the first half.
Meanwhile, Kentucky went on a 10-1 mini run. Collins provided a spark by contributing six points in the run. His dunk set up by a pass from Mintz gave UK the lead for good at 23-21.
Collins completed the mini run by making 4 of 4 free throws.
Collins’ six first-half points tripled his scoring since December.
Defense also helped Kentucky attain the halftime lead. Alabama made only 10 of 30 shots. That included only two of 14 three-point shots. The Tide also committed nine turnovers.
Kentucky expanded its lead to 39-31 early in the second half. A pull-up jumper by Washington gave UK its largest lead yet with 17 minutes left.
Alabama big man Charles Bediako picked up his third foul 98 seconds earlier and went to the bench.
A Kentucky cruise to victory did not happen.
A layup in transition by Quinerly reduced UK’s lead to 39-35. That marked the first fast-break points from a team that plays what’s been dubbed “Quicker Oats offense.”
Kentucky had welcomed the chance to play fast.
“We hope they do,” Grady said Friday. “We welcome it. We always get excited if the game can be back and forth. ... We love it if the game is a track meet.”
Collins later dunked a lob pass to put UK ahead 45-37.
About a minute later, another substitute gave Kentucky its first double-digit lead. Jacob Toppin’s driving basket made the lead 47-37 with 12:32 left.
With Alabama continuing to miss shots, turn the ball over and handicapped by the absence of transition offense, Kentucky steadily pulled away.
