No. 7 Alabama Makes Emphatic Statement to SEC, College Basketball

The Crimson Tide may be the team to beat in the SEC after it embarrassed the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Two years ago, the Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Kentucky Wildcats by double digits twice on its way to SEC regular season and tournament championships.

On Saturday in front of a jam-packed Coleman Coliseum, it did that and more — mauling the Wildcats 78-52.

Still unbeaten in the SEC, the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide (13-2, 3-0 SEC) looks like favorites to take home the conference title yet again.

“We’ve got a chance,” head coach Nate Oats said. “This game showed we can be good defensively. […] I think we’re a little deeper this year. […] I like the chemistry with this group. […] I like where we’re at right now. We’ll see what happens when we get hit with a little adversity.”

The crowd absolutely had an impact on the game. Coleman Coliseum was louder than it has been in a while — for good reason. Even Nick Saban had to see for himself.

“The crowd was unbelievable,” Oats said. “Students are not in school […] For them to show up like they did […] we need great crowds like this. […] We’re trying to put a program and a product out there that everybody’s proud to support. And they supported tonight.”

Saban’s famous motto, “Make their ass quit,” translated to the hardwood on a Saturday in January.

“It was great to see Coach Saban in the front row,” Oats said. “‘Make their butts quit’ I think is his saying, if I remember correctly. So we were trying to make them quit tonight. We don’t have quarters like football, but [the students] did a pretty good job of staying through the fourth quarter. So I’m sure he was happy with that too.”

For 40 minutes, Alabama pushed around what has been the top program in the league for all of time — leading by 31 at one point. Even with its five-stars and the legendary John Calipari, Kentucky (10-5, 1-2 SEC) had no answer for Oats and the Crimson Tide. Alabama — and specifically Charles Bediako — bullied Oscar Tshiebwe, the reigning Naismith Player of the Year. Tshiebwe only played 23 minutes, and went 1-for-7 from the field with just four points and six rebounds — an extremely poor performance for his standards.

“Charles Bediako — I feel like he can guard any center in the country,” Brandon Miller said.

Rather than the Wildcats doing the scratching and clawing — it was the Crimson Tide. Loose balls, tough rebounds and any other hustle stat belonged to Alabama. And at the end of the day, the Crimson Tide had what Kentucky didn’t — capable scorers. Miller, Mark Sears and Jahvon Quinerly all scored in double figures while the Wildcats shot just 29% from the field.

Alabama also made it a point to fight for its points, attempting 26 free throws to Kentucky’s eight.

At this point in the season, the Crimson Tide left no doubt that it was the better team. But Alabama isn’t worried about the Wildcats anymore — it's worried about what’s still to come this season.

Like a benchmark, if you will.

“It’s not just [about] beating Kentucky,” Miller said. “It’s who we play next.”

The Crimson Tide will play No. 13 Arkansas next in Fayetteville on Wednesday night. Tipoff between Alabama and the Razorbacks is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

See Also:

No. 7 Alabama Basketball Obliterates Kentucky, 78-52

Charles Bediako Answers Challenge, Dominates Matchup with Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe