Kentucky defense flexes muscles in road win over Alabama

Through 22 games, Kentucky has one of the best offenses in college basketball. The Wildcats have five players averaging scoring double figures per night with multiple dribble creators and dependable shooters from the mid-range and deep.

However, the defense was the only thing lacking.

Over the last three games, John Calipari’s squad appears to have found something on that end of the floor. Their performance in the 66-55 win over Alabama was one we should remember if this team goes on a deep run in March.

After the 19th victory of the season, KSR is diving into the box score to pull the numbers that told the story as the Wildcats collected another victory over Alabama.

In a funky game, the consistent defense led the way.

Kentucky found the clamps

In their third season under Nate Oats, Alabama entered the matchup with Kentucky having one of the best offenses in the country. The Tide ranked 10th in adjusted efficiency at KenPom as this group uniquely plays offense.

Nearly half of Alabama’s field goal attempts come from behind the three-point arc. If not launching from deep, the Tide wants shots at the rim or free throws. With a mostly four-out and sometimes five-out offense, Bama can challenge teams with their scheme.

Kentucky was ready for that challenge.

Alabama finished the night with a season-low 55 points and 0.75 points per possession. You’re simply going to win a lot of basketball games when stops occur that frequently.

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.

Daimion Collins Game

To put it simply, freshman big Daimion Collins has been a non-factor since December. The five-star recruit has not played more than 10 minutes in a game since New Year’s Eve and never left the bench in 4 of 9 SEC games entering Saturday’s contest with Alabama.

Yet, the rookie might have been the most important player for Kentucky on Saturday evening.

With Oscar Tshiebwe struggling with some of the length Alabama had at the five-point, Collins came in to give the Wildcats nine huge minutes as the freshman went for 10 points and six rebounds.

The 6-foot-9 center with a long wingspan gave Kentucky’s guards a big target on alley-oops and poured in all six free throw attempts showing an impressive shooting stroke.

For the game, Kentucky was plus-13 with Collins on the floor and his minutes at the end of the first half turned the game in the road team’s direction.

Stats that stood out

• For the first full game this season, junior point guard Sahvir Wheeler was held scoreless. The Georgia transfer was 0 of 4 from the floor with four turnovers but did dish out seven assists and collected three steals in 33 minutes to give Kentucky more good than bad.
• Oscar Tshiebwe was 4 of 13 from the floor, had three turnovers and four fouls, but still found a way to record a double-double. The junior finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds as his Player of the Year campaign continues.
• Super senior Davion Mintz continues his good play as of late as the veteran gave Kentucky seven points in 19 minutes. However, the Wildcats were plus-17 on the floor as Mintz provided some big minutes early when both Kentucky’s starting guards were struggling.
• For the second game in a row, Kentucky lost the rebounding battle. Alabama was plus-three on the glass (47-44), but some of that might have been by design. The Wildcats were spaced out on defense to take away good three-point looks, and that opened up more offensive rebound opportunities for the Tide. Meanwhile, Kentucky made a more concerted effort to get back on defense to keep Alabama out of transition. The rebounding numbers will be something monitor but this appears to be more of a blip on the radar at the moment.