No. 7 Alabama Basketball Obliterates Kentucky, 78-52

The Crimson Tide improved to 13-2 on the season behind stellar play on both sides of the basketball against the Wildcats.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Inside a jam-packed Coleman Coliseum in a gritty game where the officials allowed some hard-nosed basketball to be played, the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide dominated the Kentucky Wildcats, 78-52.

The win marks the largest margin of victory for Alabama over the Wildcats in series history.

"Can't say enough about our guys," Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "How hard they played on defense, how locked-in to the scouting report they were. I thought [Mark] Sears was unbelievable. He got in there and made a bunch of tough plays, rebounds — I thought Charles [Bediako] was great on [Oscar] Tshiebwe.

"Kentucky's going to be alright. They had a bad shooting night — they didn't shoot well. Our guys did a good job defensively on them."

Alabama center Charles Bediako played arguably the best defensive game of his career, holding Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe to just four points and rendering him almost completely ineffective on both ends of the court. Throughout the entire 40 minutes of the contest — even when the Wildcats crept back into striking distance — the Crimson Tide played lock-down defense even when the shots weren’t falling en route to a solid win.

Alabama jumped out to an early 8-0 lead powered by two layups and a dunk by Bediako. While Kentucky was able to fight its way back into the game to make it 20-19 with just under five minutes left in the first half, the Crimson Tide went on to outscore the Wildcats 15-5 over those minutes to make it 35-24 at halftime.

The matchup between Bediako and Tshiebwe was the story of the game, with Bediako winning the matchup and holding Tshiebwe to 0-for-4 from the floor and limiting him on the defensive end of the court with just two rebounds in the first half.

"That's one I don't know if I want to watch the tape," Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the game. "We shouldn't have been down 11 at half. We screwed up the first half. We did what we wanted to do but we missed every shot. You can't have your starters go 3-for-27 — three of your starters that you're banking on making baskets — and expect to win."

At the start of the second half, Alabama scored 17 of the half's first 22 points to jump out to a 52-29 lead. The shots were falling for the Crimson Tide, and guards Mark Sears and Brandon Miller took full advantage.

While Sears had scored just three points in the first half, he bounced back with 13 in the final 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Miller recorded 12 second-half points compared to his first-half total of seven.

At the 8:45 mark, Alabama held its largest lead of the game at 29 points. For the remainder of the game, Kentucky would come no closer than 26 as the Crimson Tide strolled out of Coleman Coliseum with a blue-collar win.

On the night, Alabama shot 48 percent from the floor and 36 percent from 3-point territory. At the free-throw line, the Crimson Tide was 18-for-26 (69 percent).

For Alabama, Miller finished the game with a team-leading 19 points, with Sears close behind with 16 of his own. Jahvon Quinerly was the only other Crimson Tide player to record double-digit points, finishing with 12.

Miller also led Alabama with seven rebounds, followed by Bediako, Sears and Noah Clowney who each tallied six apiece.

Kentucky finished the afternoon with just two players scoring double-digits in Antonio Reeves with 20 and Sahvir Wheeler with 15. Jacob Toppin and Tshiebwe tied for a team-leading six rebounds.

With the win, Alabama improves to 13-2 on the season and is 3-0 in SEC play. Kentucky falls to 10-5 on the year and is 1-2 in the conference. Up next, the Crimson Tide will travel to take on the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday before turning around and hosting LSU on Saturday.

"Now I'm pulling for Kentucky to go get a bunch of wins at this point," Oats said. "It was good. I thought we showed growth. [...] We're learning game to game."

How It Happened:

Second Half

• FINAL: Alabama 78, Kentucky 52

• 3-pointer by Reeves. On the next Alabama possession Griffen sinks another 3-pointer. Kentucky sinks one final 3-pointer at the buzzer, but that'll do it.

• Rylan Griffen sank a deep 3-pointer. Pringle is fouled, and at the free-throw line missed his first shot of the 1-and-1.

• Gurley picks up his second personal, sending Wheeler to the line. Wheeler missed his first free throw, but made his second. 72-46 Alabama with 1:48 left on the clock.

• A short jumper by Reeves makes it 72-45 Alabama.

• Nick Pringle replaces Bediako for Alabama, and the crowd gives him a standing ovation.

• Tshiebwe is called for his fourth personal, Kentucky's eighth of the half.

• 72-43 Alabama after a layup by Gurley. That remains the final score at the media timeout.

• The Alabama student section is now chanting "N-I-T".

• The student section goes nuts as Sears hits a free throw to make it... 69-41. He then sank his second. 70-41 Alabama.

• Bediako dove for yet another loose ball despite the large Crimson Tide lead, resulting in a jump ball, possession arrow to Alabama.

• Wheeler is called for his fourth personal, Kentucky's sixth of the half.

• Collins made a layup for Kentucky.

• Miller with another layup. He now has 19 points. 68-39 Alabama.

• At the under-8 media timeout, Alabama still leads 66-39.

• Wallace made a jumper. 66-39 Alabama.

• Sears sinks a 3-pointer.

• Quinerly is called for his third personal. Noah Gurley is then called for his first personal. Neither were shooting fouls.

• Miller is fouled, but the layup falls in. He headed to the line for the and-1 and made it. 63-37 Alabama with 9:14 left to play.

• Wheeler makes a field goal. 60-37 Crimson Tide.

• Tshiebwe makes both free throws. 58-35 Alabama.

• Miller's deep jumper earlier is changed to a 3-pointer after review. 58-33 Crimson Tide.

• A double-technical called on both Quinerly and Wheeler, who had a not-so-constructive conversation at midcourt. Timeout on the floor. Bediako is also called for his third personal.

• 3-pointer good by Quinerly. 57-33 Alabama with 10:34 remaining in the game.

• After a good jumper by Wheeler, Miller hits a deep jumper.

• Field goal by Miller. That gives him 11 points, tied with Sears for the team lead.

• Miller absolutely slams down a tomahawk dunk. The crowd goes nuts, and Nate Oats and the Alabama bench joins them. 50-29 Crimson Tide at the 12:35 mark. Timeout Kentucky.

• Bediako gets called for his second personal, Alabama's first team foul of the second half. Bradley is then called for his third, Alabama's second. Neither were shooting fouls.

• Kentucky finally hits a layup. 48-29.

• Wheeler gets called for his second personal, Kentucky's third team foul. Sears headed to the line and missed his first, by made his second shot. 48-27 Crimson Tide.

• Bradley hits a short field goal. Make that a 20-point lead. Kentucky's offense has been rendered ineffective so far in the second half.

• Another layup by Sears extends the Alabama lead to 18. 45-27 Crimson Tide.

• Kentucky is 1-for-10 to open the second half.

• We head into the under-16 media timeout with a foul called on Tshiebwe (his third). Still 43-27 Crimson Tide.

• Layup by Sears. 43-27 Alabama.

• Bediako is fouled during a layup attempt and will head to the line. Tshiebwe is issued his second foul, Kentucky's first team foul of the second half. Bediako hit his first of two free throws, missing his second. However, Bediako wrangled in the rebound, leading to a quick 3-pointer by Sears. 41-27 Alabama.

• Call on the floor is confirmed. 37-27 Alabama.

• Toppin drains a buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. It was close enough to warrant an official's review.

• A field goal by Bradley marks the first points of the second half by either side. 37-24 Crimson Tide.

• Alabama received the basketball to start the second half.

First Half

• HALFTIME: Alabama 35, Kentucky 24

• Tshiebwe turned the ball over, stolen by Sears. Quinerly sprinted down the court and made a layup, fouled on the play. Quinerly hit the and-1. 35-24 Alabama.

• Miller sank a 3-pointer, bringing the crowd inside Coleman Coliseum to its feet for the final minute of play. 32-24 Alabama.

• Wheeler nails a short jumper. 29-24 Crimson Tide.

• Reeves is called for his first personal of the game, putting Alabama in the double-bonus. Quinerly hit both shots. 29-22 Alabama.

• Bediako is called for his first foul of the game. Reeves stepped up to the line and missed both free throws. However, Kentucky picked up the rebound and Reeves hit a 3-pointer. 27-22 Crimson Tide with 1:20 left in the first half.

• Kentucky turns the ball over once again by mishandling it out-of-bounds. On the ensuing Crimson Tide possession, Quinerly made a layup. 27-19 Alabama.

• Miller is fouled on the way up, where he hit both free throws. 25-19 Alabama.

• Clowney missed his first free throw on the 1-and-1. Kentucky gets the rebound, but turned it over. Another foul sent Clowney to the line again, where he hit both free throws. 23-19 Alabama with just over three minutes left in the first half.

• At the under-4 media timeout, Alabama leads 21-19. A blocking foul on Toppin puts Alabama in the bonus. The Crimson Tide has committed just three fouls so far.

• Bediako has been playing lockdown defense on Tshiebwe throughout the first half. Tshiebwe is 0-for-4 from the floor and has just one rebound.

• A steal by Sears leads to a shooting foul on Toppin. Sears steps up to the line and hits one of two. 21-19 Alabama.

• Wheeler hit another short jumper. 20-19 Crimson Tide with under five minutes remaining.

• Wheeler hits a short jumper, cutting the Alabama lead to 3.

• Bradley was called for an offensive foul. The crowd doesn't seem to agree. Kentucky basketball.

• A layup by Miller falls in. 20-15 Alabama with 6:17 left in the first.

• A backcourt violation by Kentucky gives Alabama the basketball.

• Sears steps up to the line and sinks both free throws. 18-15 Alabama.

• Timeout on the floor at the 8:00 mark. Alabama is one of its last 11 and has a scoring drought of 3:23. The offenses for the Crimson Tide, but its defense is keeping it ahead. That being said, it'll be Kentucky basketball after the break. 16-15 Alabama.

• Another short jumper by Reeves pulls the Wildcats within 1. 16-15 Alabama.

• Reeves hit two free throws to make it 16-13 Alabama with 10:14 left in the first half.

• A dunk by Bediako out of the break gets the crowd back into the game. 16-11 Alabama.

• Not game related, but fun: a student just hit a free-throw, a 3-pointer and a half-court shot as the clock expired to win a $200 Full Moon BBQ gift card. That's the first time this season that a student as won the competition. Needless to say, the crowd went ballistic.

• The Crimson Tide has now made just one of its last seven shots. At the under-12 media timeout, the Wildcats have stormed back to make it 14-11 in favor of Alabama.

• Griffen missed a 3-pointer for the Crimson Tide, Toppin with the offensive rebound. On the ensuing offensive possession for Kentucky, Reeves drains a 3-pointer. 14-11 Alabama.

• A dunk by Thiero makes it 14-8 Alabama.

• Clowney is on the receiving end of a shooting foul by Livingston. Clowney missed his first, but made his second. 14-6 Crimson Tide.

• A short jumper by Wheeler falls in. 13-6 Alabama.

• Bradley sunk both free throws. 13-4 Crimson Tide.

• Bradley was fouled by Wallace on the way up to the basket. After the media timeout, he'll step up to the line for two. With 15:10 left in the first half, it's 11-4 Alabama.

• A layup by Wheeler gives the Wildcats another two points. 11-4 Crimson Tide.

• Clowney knocks down Alabama's first three. The Crimson Tide leads 11-2.

• Clowney throws it down off a transition runout. Alabama leads 6-0 after a Kentucky timeout. 

• Bediako opens the scoring for Alabama off a lob from Bradley. Alabama leads 2-0. 

Pregame

• Nick and Terry Saban are sitting courtside with AD Greg Byrne. Saban also went and shook Kentucky coach John Calipari's hand during pregame warmups.

A little bit more crowded 10 minutes before tipoff.

Also, Nick and Terry Saban are in the house with Greg Byrne (both are hidden behind Byrne in the photo). pic.twitter.com/AWKzJhjb3S

— Joey Blackwell (@_JoeyBlackwell) January 7, 2023

• Starting five for Alabama:
• G - Jaden Bradley
• G - Mark Sears
• F - Noah Clowney
• F - Brandon Miller
• C - Charles Bediako

• Starting five for Kentucky: 
• G - Sahvir Wheeler
• G - Cason Wallace
• F - Jacob Toppin
• F - Chris Livingston
• F - Oscar Tshiebwe

• Alabama is now back on the court for final warmups. Kentucky joined them 20 minutes before tipoff.

• Both teams have returned to their respective locker rooms as we are just over half an hour away from tip.

• Officials for today's game: Don Daily, K.B. Burdett Jr., Byron Jarrett.

• Both teams are out on the court for warmups. The student section was very quick to let the Wildcats know their opinions. There are still a lot of empty seats that will no doubt be filled before tipoff. However, as expected, a lot of blue can be seen in the stands of Coleman Coliseum.

• There are a total of 87 NBA scouts in attendance at today's game:

NBA teams in the house for #Alabama and Kentucky:

Blazers, Knicks, Pistons, Jazz, Rockets, Pelicans, Mavericks, Cavs, Bulls, Hornets, Nets, Hawks, Raptors, Magic, Spurs, Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Heat, Wizards

— Blake Byler (@blakebyler45) January 7, 2023

• 1.5 hours before tipoff and the student section is already filled:

1.5 hours ahead of tip-off between #Alabama basketball and #Kentucky, and the Crimson Tide student section (@Crimson_Chaos) is approaching capacity.

Keep in mind that classes don’t resume until next week. pic.twitter.com/eKtp57DJ1P

— Joey Blackwell (@_JoeyBlackwell) January 7, 2023