TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After back-to-back losses, No. 4 Alabama bounced back as the Crimson Tide outgunned No. 17 Kentucky, completing a regular-season sweep of the Wildcats and regaining momentum heading into the season’s final stretch.
Kentucky, once holding a 30-18 lead in the first half, couldn’t outpace the Crimson Tide, who responded to the 12-point deficit with a 24-4 run, building a lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the night.
Before we move on to Tuesday night’s matchup between Alabama and Mississippi State, here are five key numbers that defined the Tide’s win over the Wildcats.
28 — Alabama tallied 28 substitutions in the first half, which included five subs within the first five minutes of action.
Nate Oats went to his bench early. After Alabama scored the opening bucket, Kentucky’s Koby Brea drove past Labaron Philon for a layup. Oats quickly called on Aden Holloway, subbing him in for the freshman at the 18:57 mark of the first half. However, Philon checked in just 14 seconds later, sending Holloway back to the bench.
Oats said his frequent substitutions came down to a lack of effort from his team, and he will not shy away from taking the same approach from now on.
“I basically said there’s going to be zero tolerance for effort,” Oats said. “Scouting report screw-ups, that’s a bigger thing. We put a scouting report in; it needs to be filed, it needs to be locked in and focused on the right thing. And then just dumb turnovers, we got to stop turning the ball over. I don’t know that it worked, but that’s the way it’s going to be moving forward.
5 — Despite beginning the night on the bench, Aden Holloway banged home five 3-pointers, the third time this season he hit that mark.
Holloway drilled a deep 3-pointer with under 10 minutes left in the first half, sending the crowd into a frenzy and extending Alabama’s lead to nine. He was the catalyst for a solid shooting night from Alabama’s guards, who combined to hit 11 of 27 from beyond the arc. Mark Sears and Chris Youngblood each knocked down three 3-pointers, while Holloway led the way with five.
30 — Alabama’s Mark Sears scored at least 30 points for the second straight game, landing precisely on the number. Sears scored 15 points in each half on 17 shots, which Nate Oats noted was explicitly impressive.
Sears hit the dagger with two minutes remaining on the clock. The guard attempted a lob from beyond the 3-point line to Clifford Omoruyi, who was one point shy of a double-double. The lob was stolen, but Sears stole the ball back in transition, pulled up from deep, and splashed home a 3-pointer to give Alabama a 12-point lead.
“ Sears is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play since he’s been here on both sides of the ball,” Oats said. “The bad turnover there late, trying to get Cliff a lob. Not the smartest play. He apologized as soon as he came to the bench. He felt bad… I think his defensive effort’s been pretty good; best it’s been. And then I think, offensively, he’s been really efficient.”
15 — Clifford Omoruyi snagged a season-high 15 rebounds against Kentucky, 12 of which came on the defensive glass.
“Most rebounds Cliff’s had since he’s been here,” Oats said. “He had 15 rebounds, and he had the best defensive leverage on the team. We were 45 points per 100 possessions, better with him on the floor on the defensive end than we were when he was off the floor. I thought it was a great game on the Cliff tonight.”
Omoruyi recorded a double-double with 11 points and the 15 rebounds, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and adding three free throws.
26 — With the win over No. 17 Kentucky, Nate Oats now stands alone in Alabama basketball history. He surpassed Wimp Sanderson to become the program’s all-time leader in victories over AP top-25 teams with 26.
Oats named a handful of players who helped him, starting with Herb Jones, and mentioned Jaden Shackelford, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney.
Oats credited those guys, along with an intense schedule, allowing him to reach this mark.
“The SEC is a lot better now, so there’s a lot more opportunities to get top 25 wins than [Wimp] probably had,” Oats said. “When they give you the opportunity, you take advantage of them and try to get it done.”
