#4 Alabama entered the historic Rupp Arena as underdogs when they took on #8 Kentucky Saturday morning. In a truly incredible game, the Crimson Tide emerged victorious 102-97. Nate Oats’ team earned their fifth Quad 1A win and quite possibly have the best resume in college basketball. Is this finally the year for Alabama?
Alabama Keeps Getting it Done on the Road
The Tide have now won 5 consecutive road games, a streak that included tough battles against South Carolina and Texas A&M. Their win at Kentucky was a historic occasion for the program. Alabama’s last win at Kentucky when the Wildcats were a top-10 team was January 26, 2002.
NO. 4 ALABAMA TAKES DOWN NO. 8 KENTUCKY AT RUPP‼️
It’s the Tide’s first road win vs a top-10 Wildcats team since 2002 😤 pic.twitter.com/lULiC7vasv
— ESPN (@espn) January 18, 2025
The themes that have characterized Alabama’s most mature road performances are exemplified by the team’s “Hard Hat Award.” Rebounds, blocks, steals, deflections, and diving on the floor are all things that factor into the award, which Nate Oats presents after games. The honor is emblematic of Bama’s culture of toughness and “blue collar basketball.” Against Kentucky, the winner was Mouhamed Dioubate, who was flat-out incredible in his 15 minutes of action. Despite fouling out, Dioubate had 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. He was everywhere on the court, tipping out loose balls, playing excellent defense, and running hard in the fast-paced game.
Tonight’s Hard Hat Award winner presented by @mcabeeinc: Mouhamed Dioubate#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/fnXy5n46ao
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 18, 2025
Jarin Stevenson also deserves credit for the way he defended, making life tough for Kentucky’s bigs all game. Despite how many good defenders Alabama has on their roster, they seem contest to play a style of basketball that can result in shootouts, like their game on Saturday. Kentucky has the 2nd highest-scoring offense in the country behind Alabama, and both teams delivered special offensive performances.
Alabama and Kentucky’s Firepower is Unmatched
Grant Nelson led the team in scoring on the night. He stacked up most of his 25 points in the first half. He also ended the game with 11 rebounds and 2 assists. Mark Sears was just 6-17, but stacked up a few triples down the stretch and had all 8 of his made free throws come in the final few minutes. He tallied 24 points in total in addition to his 9 assists.
Alabama has been criticized for shooting too many three-pointers, even in the era of analytics. There were definitely times in the game where tough long shots off one pass let Kentucky off the hook on defense and allowed them to build momentum on the offensive end, but for the most part, Alabama was relentless in attacking the paint. Sears and freshman Labaron Philon both got into the lane consistently throughout the game, allowing for much better looks from outside.
Philon was tremendous down the stretch. He looked very comfortable off the dribble despite being almost 30 pounds lighter than Lamont Butler, who defended him a fair amount down the stretch. Philon created many opportunities for his teammates by keeping his vision up and also buried a massive three-pointer to stretch the lead to 9 with three minutes to play.
PHILON
PHILON
PHILON pic.twitter.com/0sIXxrRYAN— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) January 18, 2025
Kentucky deserves a lot of credit for the way they played on offense, but the Wildcats just couldn’t get enough stops down the stretch. Otega Oweh has been an absolute star, scoring 21 points on 8-14 from the floor. Six other Wildcats had double-digits, notably Lamont Butler, who had 17 and 8 assists. Amari Williams had a double-double with 13 and 11 boards, 5 of which were offensive. However, Bama still held the advantage on the glass 42-38, which Grant Nelson noted as their main focus in the game.
What is Next for Alabama?
Alabama will always have plenty of doubters, but it is starting to look like they might have a legitimate claim to being the best team in the SEC. They’ve bounced back from their loss against Ole Miss and have now beaten Kentucky, won several other tough road games, and have avoided major upsets. Of course, they have not faced Auburn, Tennessee, or Florida yet. In any case, Alabama is looking the part so far.
They are right back to it on Tuesday, and begin a two-game home stand against Vanderbilt, who just upset #6 Tennessee. It will be another tough game for Bama, who then have LSU on Saturday.
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