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NASHVILLE — It wasn’t one and done for Kentucky basketball at the SEC Tournament.
It was one and one.
After a memorable victory over Oklahoma in Thursday’s second round, UK failed to conjure up a winning formula against Alabama in Friday’s quarterfinals.
With a short-handed roster, the Wildcats had too few bullets to fell the high-powered Crimson Tide at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky and coach Mark Pope departed the league tourney via a lopsided 99-70 defeat.
UK (22-11) never led Friday. And, courtesy of its wire-to-wire victory, Alabama (25-7) will be back in action during Saturday’s semifinals. UA will face Florida for a spot in Sunday’s championship tilt, opposite either Auburn or Tennessee.
Kentucky now looks ahead to Selection Sunday, where it will learn its NCAA Tournament destination and opponent.
Here are three takeaways from the Wildcats’ tournament-capping loss Friday:
One quality Pope’s group has showcased time and again throughout a season in which injuries have been a constant — the Wildcats have had their dozen scholarship players available in just seven games in 2024-25 — is a willingness to fight. To scrap.
Put another way, this team has heart.
It was without a pair of starters (Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, the latter of whom is out for the season) and another rotational piece (Kerr Kriisa) it hasn’t had at its disposal since December.
Given that fact, and the emotional toll Thursday night wrought — the one-point escape against the Sooners saw the Wildcats lose a 12-point lead with less than five minutes to play before Otega Oweh snared a victory from the jaws of defeat — it wouldn’t have surprised any keen observer of the sport if Kentucky had nothing left in the tank.
The final score proved that was the case.
Even so, even if it didn’t have enough to go toe to toe with Alabama for 40 minutes, UK acquitted itself about as respectably as it could amid the dire circumstances of its roster’s health (or lack thereof).
Some might point to UK’s numerous ailing players and posit that Friday’s game might have turned out differently if only the team hadn’t been so savagely bitten by the injury bug.
Those people would be wrong.
The Wildcats and Crimson Tide have played three times this season. All three times, Alabama has trotted back to a joyous postgame locker room.
Three times isn’t a coincidence; it’s a pattern.
At this moment, Alabama coach Nate Oats has established his program as one of the best the country has to offer. Pope aims to reach that echelon in the future — and in light of Kentucky’s status as college basketball’s all-time winningest program, the expectation would be that he should surpass Oats on his way to the summit.
That time hasn’t arrived just yet.
Friday was resounding proof of that.
Oweh has been as dependable offensively as the day is long; he’s scored at least 10 points in 30 of Kentucky’s 32 games entering Friday. He's no slouch defensively, either, standing shoulder to shoulder — make no inference about his teammate’s injury here — with Butler for team-leading honors in steals, with each averaging 1.6 swipes per game.
Considering all he brings to the table, any time he’s not on the floor is a net loss for the Wildcats.
But they had to level with that reality for nearly six minutes (of game time) Friday.
Contesting a shot at the rim during an Alabama fast break, Oweh fell to the ground after being hit in the face during a midair collision with Labaron Philon. Blood pouring forth, Oweh went back to the locker room for treatment with 11:24 left in the first half.
When he exited, the Wildcats trailed by eight points, 22-14.
When Oweh checked back in at the 5:40 mark, the deficit was five (33-28).
His absence could have destroyed UK’s spirits.
Instead, during a season in which he’s routinely bailed out his teammates in dicey situations, on this night, the roles were reversed.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky vs Alabama in SEC Tournament: Mark Pope's team bows out
Continue reading...
It was one and one.
After a memorable victory over Oklahoma in Thursday’s second round, UK failed to conjure up a winning formula against Alabama in Friday’s quarterfinals.
With a short-handed roster, the Wildcats had too few bullets to fell the high-powered Crimson Tide at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky and coach Mark Pope departed the league tourney via a lopsided 99-70 defeat.
UK (22-11) never led Friday. And, courtesy of its wire-to-wire victory, Alabama (25-7) will be back in action during Saturday’s semifinals. UA will face Florida for a spot in Sunday’s championship tilt, opposite either Auburn or Tennessee.
Kentucky now looks ahead to Selection Sunday, where it will learn its NCAA Tournament destination and opponent.
Here are three takeaways from the Wildcats’ tournament-capping loss Friday:
Kentucky shows first-half fight despite lack of bodies
One quality Pope’s group has showcased time and again throughout a season in which injuries have been a constant — the Wildcats have had their dozen scholarship players available in just seven games in 2024-25 — is a willingness to fight. To scrap.
Put another way, this team has heart.
It was without a pair of starters (Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, the latter of whom is out for the season) and another rotational piece (Kerr Kriisa) it hasn’t had at its disposal since December.
Given that fact, and the emotional toll Thursday night wrought — the one-point escape against the Sooners saw the Wildcats lose a 12-point lead with less than five minutes to play before Otega Oweh snared a victory from the jaws of defeat — it wouldn’t have surprised any keen observer of the sport if Kentucky had nothing left in the tank.
The final score proved that was the case.
Even so, even if it didn’t have enough to go toe to toe with Alabama for 40 minutes, UK acquitted itself about as respectably as it could amid the dire circumstances of its roster’s health (or lack thereof).
Alabama is simply a bad matchup for Kentucky
Some might point to UK’s numerous ailing players and posit that Friday’s game might have turned out differently if only the team hadn’t been so savagely bitten by the injury bug.
Those people would be wrong.
The Wildcats and Crimson Tide have played three times this season. All three times, Alabama has trotted back to a joyous postgame locker room.
Three times isn’t a coincidence; it’s a pattern.
At this moment, Alabama coach Nate Oats has established his program as one of the best the country has to offer. Pope aims to reach that echelon in the future — and in light of Kentucky’s status as college basketball’s all-time winningest program, the expectation would be that he should surpass Oats on his way to the summit.
That time hasn’t arrived just yet.
Friday was resounding proof of that.
Otega Oweh takes a shot ... and the Wildcats punch back in his absence
Oweh has been as dependable offensively as the day is long; he’s scored at least 10 points in 30 of Kentucky’s 32 games entering Friday. He's no slouch defensively, either, standing shoulder to shoulder — make no inference about his teammate’s injury here — with Butler for team-leading honors in steals, with each averaging 1.6 swipes per game.
Considering all he brings to the table, any time he’s not on the floor is a net loss for the Wildcats.
But they had to level with that reality for nearly six minutes (of game time) Friday.
Contesting a shot at the rim during an Alabama fast break, Oweh fell to the ground after being hit in the face during a midair collision with Labaron Philon. Blood pouring forth, Oweh went back to the locker room for treatment with 11:24 left in the first half.
When he exited, the Wildcats trailed by eight points, 22-14.
When Oweh checked back in at the 5:40 mark, the deficit was five (33-28).
His absence could have destroyed UK’s spirits.
Instead, during a season in which he’s routinely bailed out his teammates in dicey situations, on this night, the roles were reversed.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky vs Alabama in SEC Tournament: Mark Pope's team bows out
Continue reading...
