No. 5 Alabama routs No. 15 Kentucky in SEC Tournament quarterfinals

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 5 Alabama took the floor as the 3-seed in the SEC Tournament on Friday night and took care of business, dominating 6-seed/No. 15 Kentucky by a final score of 99-70. The win moves the Crimson Tide to 25-7 on the year, and advances it to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament tomorrow.

Alabama went with the same starting lineup it’s used for the past six games: going with Labaron Philon, Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson and Cliff Omoruyi.

HOW IT HAPPENED

As expected in a game with these two offenses, the game started out with a lightning fast up-and-down pace. The first media timeout didn’t come until over six and a half minutes into the game, with both teams notched at 14 points apiece.

Alabama lived at the rim early on, making 6-of-8 shots inside before the first media timeout and finding plenty of driving lanes. The outside shots weren’t falling early, missing their first five 3-point attempts.

Coming out of that media timeout, Alabama went on a quick 8-0 burst sparked by some big-time Philon finishes headed into the under-8 timeout. The Tide continued to attack the rim with force, something that was huge during its road win over Auburn last week and seemed to carry over.

As the first half drew near to its end, Kentucky continued to fight and keep the game close. The ‘Cats cut the lead down to four entering the under-4 timeout, Alabama leading 36-32. The Tide didn’t hit its first 3-pointer in the game until there was 6:45 left in the half, missing that valuable piece of its offense for much of the game’s opening minutes.

Alabama added a small bit to its lead before the break, taking a 45-38 lead into halftime. Philon was the star of the show for the Crimson Tide in the first half, scoring 13 points, dishing out three assists and racking up three steals.

The Tide came out hot in the second half, with Philon picking up right where he left off from the first half and scoring five more points before the first timeout of the new half. After a Mo Dioubate three pushed the Alabama lead out to 13, its largest of the game, Kentucky called timeout and the Tide fans in Bridgestone Arena made their presence felt.

Over the next 4-minute stretch Alabama continued to leave its mark on the game, pushing its lead out even more. Aden Holloway got going, breaking out of a rough stretch he’d been in recently. Dioubate threw down a slam on a fast break to extend the lead 17, once again its biggest of the night, prompting yet another Kentucky timeout.

Everyone got involved as the second half continued. Sears, who had a quiet night up to this point, finally found some offensive rhythm with a deep three and some nice drives to the rim. At the under-8 timeout Alabama held an 81-60 lead, having firm control of the game.

Once the lead got up to 20, it was smooth sailing from then on out. Alabama got to get significant minutes for every scholarship player available, and cruised to a win.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME

Labaron Philon — 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists

Mo Dioubate — 13 points, 8 rebounds

Jarin Stevenson — 16 points, 4 rebounds

WHAT’S NEXT

Alabama will remain in Nashville another day, taking on 2-seed Florida in the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament tomorrow. The game will tip off at roughly 2:30 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.

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