Alabama suspends player ahead of key matchup with Kentucky

Ahead of their key matchup with No. 5 Kentucky, Alabama has suspended one of their players for a violation of team rules. Sophomore Darius Miles will not play for the Crimson Tide against the Wildcats, a significant blow to their depth.

Alabama suspends Darius Miles

“Alabama forward Darius Miles is suspended for tonight’s game due to a violation of team rules, per UA,” stated Charlie Potter of 247Sports on Saturday.

Although Miles hasn’t produced much on offense for the Crimson Tide this season, the sophomore forward has been a huge rotation player. In nearly 18 minutes per game, Miles has averaged 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Coming off a big win over Kansas just a week ago, No. 5 Kentucky has a big test as they face the Crimson Tide on the road. Alabama continues to try and fight their way into the NCAA Tournament after suffering questionable losses early in the season. Despite their 14-8 record, Alabama has proven they can play with the best teams in the nation.

With wins over Gonzaga, Houston and Baylor, the Crimson Tide have become one of the most dangerous matchups in the SEC. Alabama enters Saturday after suffering a loss to No. 1 Auburn on the road.

Kentucky’s defense shows up against Alabama

Alabama finished the night with a season-low 55 points and 0.75 points per possession, as On3’s Adam Luckett broke down after the game.

In 73 possessions, Alabama was 3 of 30 from three (10%), 12 of 27 at the rim (44.4%), and 16 of 24 (66.7%) from the free throw line. Add in a turnover rate of 20.5 percent, and not much went right for the Crimson Tide.

The home team had a tough time creating good looks of the bounce and Kentucky’s closeouts were excellent. That opened up some rebounding lanes for Alabama’s small lineups which led to 16 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds. However, the Wildcats were willing to give that away.

Kentucky played great team defense and never got flustered by the pace and space that Alabama employs. Overall, this was one of the better efforts of the season.

On3’s Adam Luckett contributed to this article.