No. 7 Alabama Whips Kentucky 78-52
Compiled by UK Athletics
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES COLEMAN COLISEUM | TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
JAN. 7, 2023 ATTENDANCE: 13,474
Final Score: No. 7 Alabama 78, RV/25 Kentucky 52
Team Records and Series Notes
Kentucky is now 10-5 on the season, 1-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Alabama is 13-2 overall, with a four-game win streak, and is 3-0 in league play.
Kentucky holds a 116-41 advantage in the all-time series, including 32-26 in Tuscaloosa.
Next for UK: the Wildcats host South Carolina on Tuesday at 7 p.m., televised by ESPN2.
Team Notes
Kentucky opened with a starting lineup of Sahvir Wheeler, Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe for the third time this year. UK is 2-1 with this lineup.
Kentucky won the rebounding battle, 45-41, leading to a 15-10 advantage in second-chance points.
Player Notes
Antonio Reeves had 20 points, his third game of at least 20 points this season.
He made 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, most since making four vs. North Florida on Nov. 23.
Sahvir Wheeler had 15 points, one shy of his season high.
He also tied for the team lead in assists with three. This marked the 11th time this season and 82nd time in his career he led the team in assists.
Coach John Calipari
Calipari is 19-7 vs. Alabama, including 18-6 while at Kentucky.
Calipari has an 820-246 all-time on-court record and is 375-106 in 14 seasons at UK.
UK is 67-47 (58.8%) against ranked competition under Calipari.
In the First Half
The Crimson Tide came out red-hot, scoring the game’s first eight points, before Livingston – for the third game in a row – scored first for the Wildcats at the 16:46 mark.
Daimion Collins and Ugonna Onyenso were the first subs for UK with 16:01 remaining.
Alabama stretched the early lead to nine points at 11-2 and 13-4.
Kentucky rallied within one point at 16-15 and 20-19 and totaled four possessions with the opportunity to take the lead but was unable to convert.
Alabama closed the half with a 15-5 run and took a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
Wheeler and Antonio Reeves led UK in the first half with 10 points each.
In the Second Half
Kentucky opened the second stanza with the starting lineup.
An 11-0 Alabama run pushed the lead to 48-29.
The Tide eventually led by as many as 31 points at 72-41.
From Alabama's official website
Coach Nate Oats' postgame comments:
"I can't say enough about our guys and how hard they played on defense and 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 and rebounds. I thought Charles (Bediako) was great on (Oscar) Tshiebwe. Kentucky's going to be alright. They had a bad shooting night, and our guys did a great job defensively on him. It was good. I thought we showed growth. We were up 27 against Ole Miss and let them cut it to 15. I think it was the under-eight media timeout and we were up 27 again, ironic how it worked out that way. I sat in the huddle and asked, 'What are we going to do from here?', and we pushed the lead to 31 instead of letting them back in it. We're learning, and we're trying to get a little bit better every game.
"The crowd was unbelievable. Students aren't in school until Wednesday, the first day of class, so for them to show up and support us like they did was great. We're trying to put a program and product out there that everyone is proud to support, and they definitely supported us tonight, so I just want to thank everybody for that."
