KSR's top takeaways from Kentucky's road win at Alabama

Kentucky got its “roadkill” again, defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide by a final score of 66-55 in Tuscaloosa. It was a win that pushed UK’s record to 19-4 on the year and 8-2 in conference play, holding firm at No. 2 in the SEC.

How did the victory come together? And what does it mean for the Wildcats as they look ahead to their matchup at South Carolina on Tuesday?

An unexpected rock fight

In a matchup of two of the nation’s top-15 scoring offenses, the college basketball world expected a high-scoring track meet between the Wildcats and Crimson Tide. Instead, they got a gritty head-to-head battle that saw neither team score 70 points — both averaged over 80 entering the night — or shoot efficiently.

Alabama’s previous season-low was 65 points in a win over Jacksonville State. Tonight, Kentucky held the Tide to just 55 points on 28.1 percent shooting overall and 10 percent from three, all season lows. For the Wildcats, it was the fewest points they’ve scored in a game since the team’s 64-58 win at Texas A&M back on January 19.

“To go into a game like this, you really don’t care — it’s not about how you win,” John Calipari said.

It may not have been pretty, but it’s impossible to complain about an 11-point road win at Alabama.

A historically poor shooting performance for Alabama

Let’s not skip over those shooting numbers for the Crimson Tide, because that was the story of the game. Coming in averaging 81.4 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting, 31.4 percent from three and 71.7 percent from the line, Alabama scored just 55 points on 18-64 shooting overall, 3-30 from deep and 16-24 from the stripe.

Not only was it a season-low in scoring the Tide, it was also the fewest points they’ve scored in a game since March 7, 2020 (50 points vs. Missouri).

Just how poorly did they shoot? It was the first time a team missed 27 3-pointers against Kentucky since 2005 (West Virginia). UK also had its best defensive field-goal percentage (28.1%) in a true road game since 2015 (at South Carolina, 22.6%). To take it a step further, no Power 5 team has shot worse than 3-30 from three since at least 2010.

Was it just poor offense for Alabama or great defense by Kentucky? It was a bit of both, with the Tide missing plenty wide-open shots, but the Wildcats also stringing together several runs of impressive defensive stops.

Either way, the numbers don’t lie.

TyTy Washington leads the way with 15 points

Washington hasn’t scored in double figures since Kentucky’s blowout win against Tennessee, a 28-point effort for the freshman guard. Since then, he’s scored a combined 21 points in four games, and missed one game with an ankle injury.

Tonight, Washington got back to his double-digit scoring ways, finishing with 15 points to lead the team. It wasn’t an efficient 15, shooting just 6-15 overall and 1-5 from three, but he had several crucial makes in the second half to extend Kentucky’s lead. Between the mid-range pull-ups and the deep step-back three he hit from the left wing, Washington’s offense was a game-changer for UK as it looked to close things out in Tuscaloosa.

“My coaches and my teammates are telling me to be aggressive and keep shooting,” Washington said after the win. “‘Keep shooting, just shoot the ball straight,’ that’s what Cal was telling me. ‘Keep being aggressive.'”

Daimion Collins breaks through off the bench

Collins entered tonight’s game with four combined points in SEC play, scoring two points against Texas A&M and another two vs. Missouri. He hasn’t even played in three of the team’s last four games.

With Oscar Tshiebwe struggling against Alabama’s length, Calipari called Collins’ number off the bench, and the freshman forward delivered.

Playing three minutes to close out the first half, Collins finished with six points (1-2 FG, 4-4 FT) and three rebounds. And then after the break, the 6-foot-9 freshman added another four points and three rebounds to push his total to 10 points (2-3 FG, 6-6 FT) and six rebounds in the win.

It was his first ten-point effort since Kentucky’s win over North Florida back on November 26 (12 points) and just his third of the year.

“Daimion Collins was the difference-maker,” John Calipari said. “… He played great, great defensively.”

Shackelford and Quinerly combine for just 13 points

Alabama’s lead guards entered the game as the No. 1 scoring duo in the SEC, averaging a combined 32.4 points on the year. Jaden Shackelford came in averaging 17.6 points per game (40.8% FG, 37.3% 3PT), good for fourth in the SEC, while Jahvon Quinerly is the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game (40.9% FG).

Tonight, though, the two guards combined for just 13 points on 4-22 shooting and 0-10 from three, also adding five total turnovers in the loss.

Oscar Tshiebwe struggles vs. length, but still earns double-double

We saw Tshiebwe struggle against length in Kentucky’s loss at Auburn, specifically in his head-to-head matchup vs. Walker Kessler. Tonight, Charles Bediako presented yet another challenge for the junior center, using his 7-foot, 225-pound frame to finish with a team-high 12 points on 4-4 shooting and 4-4 from the line to go with eight rebounds, one block and one steal. Like we saw against Kessler, Tshiebwe specifically struggled in the pick-and-roll, finding himself on the losing end of several backdoor lobs.

Defensively, Bediako’s length made life difficult for Tshiebwe, who finished with ten points on 4-13 shooting and 2-4 from the line. It was one of the few times this season we’ve seen the standout center struggle offensively and show clear discomfort when trying to score the ball.

Still, though, Tshiebwe is Tshiebwe, and his worst is better than everyone else’s best. He finished with yet another double-double — his 17th on the year — putting up ten points, 15 rebounds, four steals, one assist and one block in the win.

Five players finish in double figures

Kentucky scored just 66 points on the day, but still saw five different players finish with at least ten points in the win. Washington led the way with 15, followed by ten points from Keion Brooks Jr. (4-9 FG, 2-4 FT), Kellan Grady (3-5 FG, 2-3 3PT), Tshiebwe (4-13 FG, 2-4 FT) and Collins (2-3 FG, 6-6 FT).

Beyond the top five scorers, Davion Mintz also added seven points on 3-9 shooting and 1-3 from three, followed by Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware with two points apiece. The only player held scoreless who saw playing time was Sahvir Wheeler (zero points, 0-4 shooting), though he did add seven assists, three rebounds and three steals to go with four turnovers in 33 minutes.

UK assistant coach Chin Coleman called this team a “nightmare” to scout because there are so many scoring options lining the roster. Tonight was yet another example of Kentucky beating you from the top of the rotation to the bottom.