Alabama Dominates Kentucky 99-70 in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals<\/p>\n
No. 3 seed Alabama men’s basketball defeated No. 6 seed Kentucky 99-70 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday evening at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n
This victory marked the first time in history that Alabama has triumphed over Kentucky in three consecutive games.<\/p>\n
The game was tied at 14 after the first seven minutes. Alabama found early success in the paint and with lobs and layups, while two of Kentucky\u2019s first five field goals came from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n
Alabama responded with a 9-0 run, followed by a 7-0 Kentucky run, making it 23-21 in favor of Alabama with 9:32 remaining in the half. Despite leading, Alabama had yet to make a 3-pointer, missing on their first nine attempts.<\/p>\n
Forwards Jarin Stevenson and Grant Nelson each hit a three-pointer, helping Alabama maintain a 36-30 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Tide carried momentum into halftime, holding a 45-38 lead despite hitting only two 3-pointers in the first half.<\/p>\n
Freshman guard Labaron Philon stood out for Alabama, leading the team with 10 points and adding three assists.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s playing in his first postseason game, and he looked great,\u201d head coach Nate Oats remarked.<\/p>\n
Alabama also performed well in terms of turnovers, forcing Kentucky into eight mistakes while only committing four of their own.<\/p>\n
In the second half, guard Chris Youngblood opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, giving Alabama a 49-40 lead.<\/p>\n
That sparked Alabama\u2019s offense, and the lead grew to 13 at 57-44 with 16:31 remaining after Philon and forward Mouhamed Dioubate each made 3-pointers as part of an 8-2 run.<\/p>\n
A 13-5 run pushed Alabama\u2019s lead to 20 at 77-57 with 10:39 left, thanks to forcing turnovers, hitting open 3-pointers, and strong paint vision.<\/p>\n
Alabama continued to dominate, eventually securing a 29-point victory in their tournament opener.<\/p>\n
Alabama\u2019s strong performance, shooting 9\/16 from 3-point range in the second half and forcing 16 turnovers, led to the lopsided win.<\/p>\n
Oats expressed satisfaction with his team\u2019s defense and attributed the win to three key factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cPressuring their guards, preventing transition plays, and running them off the 3-point line were the biggest contributors,\u201d Oats explained.<\/p>\n
Philon finished with a game-high 21 points, along with four assists, one block, and three turnovers.<\/p>\n
Stevenson added 16 points, earning praise from Oats after the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Jarin Stevenson played his best game of the season,\u201d Oats said.<\/p>\n
Alabama will play in the SEC Tournament semifinals tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT against No. 2 seed Florida.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alabama Dominates Kentucky 99-70 in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals No. 3 seed Alabama men’s basketball defeated No. 6 seed Kentucky 99-70 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday evening at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. This victory marked the first time in history that Alabama has triumphed over Kentucky in three consecutive games. The game was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[502],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kentucky-wildcats"],"yoast_head":"\n