Watch the Tape: Alabama Crimson Tide

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watch-the-tape-alabama-crimson-tide-4 — Kentucky Sports Radio | Dr. Michael Huang

Rupp Arena has seen more losing than it is accustomed to this season. It all started with the ugly loss to UNC Wilmington back in early December. Then, things got worse as the Kentucky Wildcats lost three straight at Rupp for the first time ever. However, Saturday’s performance helped to heal some of those wounds. The Wildcats absolutely dominated the Alabama Crimson Tide, leading by as many as 37 points, on their way to a 117-95 victory. Once again, as soon as people both nationally and even at home within Big Blue Nation write this group off, they pull you back in with a championship-caliber performance. Kentucky has now played a high-level of basketball in seven of their last eight halves. That consistency will need to continue to close out the regular season.

Kentucky’s win over Alabama on Saturday will forever be known as “The Justin Edwards Game.” He flashed his insanely high potential going off for a game-high 28 points with nearly perfect shooting splits of 10-10, 4-4, 4-5. For a player who has faced a great deal of scrutiny throughout the season, it was great to see Edwards have a storybook game on such a big stage. Antonio Reeves added 24 points for the ‘Cats while Zvonimir Ivisic came off the bench and finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. Rob Dillingham and Adou Thiero rounded out the five ‘Cats in double-figures with 16 and 12 points respectively. Kentucky shot 13-24 from three-point range as they essentially beat the Crimson Tide at their own game.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest contest. It will largely go unnoticed due to scoring 117 and points and still giving up 95, but the coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for an excellent game plan. Holding the Crimson Tide to just 17 three-point attempts is not an easy task. There was some disciplined defensive execution on Saturday night that deserves to be appreciated. Also, we will obviously talk about the offense. Zvonimir Ivisic brings a special collection of skills at the “5” that not many in college basketball possess. The overall execution remains high as well as Kentucky out-dueled the best offense in the country. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at the Wildcats’ 117-95 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

How Kentucky Beat Alabama at Their Own Game

There was a lot of fear among Big Blue Nation, understandably so, about how Kentucky would guard the Alabama Crimson Tide. Sure, the Wildcats would put up points, but would it matter if they also gave up 100 or more? Coach Nate Oats has become well known for his style of play. His teams always play fast and let it rip from beyond the arc. However, it was Coach John Calipari and the ‘Cats that pushed this game to 80 possessions and shot 13-24 from three-point range holding their opponent to just 6-17 shooting from deep. In a lot of ways, Kentucky beat Alabama at their own game. These are going to be fun clips to watch.

Admittedly, the half court style is not something you will see from the Alabama Crimson Tide. Coach Oats isn’t going to be running floppy action anytime soon. However, the end result is very Alabama-esque. When you shoot above 50% from three-point range it generally means you should be looking to shoot even more. Kentucky fans have been clamoring for Reed Sheppard to be more aggressive offensively and he squeezed off a couple of tough shots from deep on Saturday night. This isn’t a shot he probably would have taken earlier in the season. Anytime his defender goes underneath a ballscreen or handoff, no matter how deep it is, Sheppard should let it fly. Excellent shot with a 6’10” defender barreling down on him.

Justin Edwards came into Saturday’s game as a 31.1% three-point shooter with 19 makes in 25 games. Most players with that line wouldn’t have the confidence to take shots like this. Furthermore, most coaches wouldn’t empower a relatively low-volume 31.1% shooter to take a shot like this. That is something you see Coach Oats do almost to a fault. Coach Calipari has continued to believe in his star freshman and it paid off in a major way against Alabama. Edwards turned in a performance that will be remembered for years to come.

This clip looks like it was stolen directly out of an Alabama highlight reel. Rob Dillingham races the ball into the scoring area and does a beautiful job of slicing the floor as Reed Sheppard and Justin Edwards run along the baseline to the wings. Edwards immediately attacks the baseline on his catch, flattens the defense out a bit, and finds a relocated Dillingham for a wide open three. Kentucky went the length of the floor, made two passes, and got an open shot attempt in just seven seconds. That is high-level offensive execution in transition.

In typical Reed Sheppard fashion, the star freshman impacted the game in many ways that went beyond the scoring column. He led the Wildcats in rebounding and assists with six a piece. Sheppard also collected a team-high four steals to run his six game total to 26. However, his elite shooting ability should never go overlooked. Despite making “just” two three-pointers on Saturday evening, both were excellent shots that he needs to continue to look for more often. We already saw the first one deep behind the handoff. Now, Sheppard received an excellent flare screen from Justin Edwards, his defender smacked into the screen, and he squeezed one off over another 6’10” defender. When your range extends to 30-feet it really puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

Zvonimir Ivisic Changes the Offensive Calculus at the “5”

It is crazy to think that Zvonimir Ivisic has still played in just nine games since earning his eligibility back on January 20th. In that span he received two DNP’s, and played six or fewer minutes in four other contests. On Saturday against the Alabama Crimson Tide he played a season-high 20 minutes and somehow managed to outperform his viral debut. Coach Calipari is able to insert one of the most skilled 5-men in the country while not giving up much in terms of rim protection on the other end. Big Z is absolutely still a work in progress, but he has some raw skills that you simply cannot teach. He looked like a NBA first round pick while scoring 18 points in Kentucky’s win over the Crimson Tide.

With all due respect to Kentucky’s other 5-men, they aren’t finishing this. Having the coordination and agility that Zvonimir Ivisic possesses at 7’2″ is truly special. Reed Sheppard’s pass led Ivisic a little too far, but the big man had no issue catching it and finishing a reverse layup while gliding through the air. Giving the guards a legitimate option to hit on the roll makes Ivisic even more valuable offensively.

Even when he isn’t scoring, Zvonimir Ivisic’s presence helps the offense function. He is so comfortable on the perimeter with the ball in his hands. His mobility and ball skill on the perimeter allows him to initiate these handoff, get, and zoom actions. You can see how much attention the Alabama Crimson Tide paid to him on the roll after getting scored on a couple of times. Typically, Antonio Reeves is the one with a gravitational force, but Big Z had his own gravity on Saturday.

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Defenses generally like to switch the ballscreens and handoffs when a pick-and-pop threat is involved. However, when that pick-and-pop threat is 7’2″ sometimes the switch doesn’t really do any good. Look at #3 Griffin, who is 6’6″, try to contest this shot. Ivisic knocks in the pick-and-pop three like he isn’t even there. He is now 6-10 from deep on the season.

We primarily wanted to showcase what Zvonimir Ivisic brings to the table offensively. However, it would be an oversight to not mention his shot blocking ability as well. Ivisic finished with four blocked shots against Alabama including this spectacular one on #23 Pringle. He first does a good job of sliding across the lane and cutting off #2 Nelson. Then, Ivisic quickly recovers across the lane again and stuffs Pringle at the rim. Again, it is his footwork and agility that stand out not just offensively but defensively as well. There are raw tools that he possesses that make it hard to keep him off of the floor.

Defensive Game Plan + Execution

You don’t typically come out of a game after giving up 95 points and give credit to the defensive game plan and execution. However, most teams aren’t as deadly on the offensive end as the Alabama Crimson Tide. When you are guarding a team that shoots the ball the way they do you have to defend with the mindset of taking away attempts. They are too high volume and high percentage to simply be there to contest. On Saturday, Kentucky held Alabama to just 17 three-point attempts. Why is that significant? Well, the only teams to allow fewer since Nate Oats got the job are 2021 Iona coached by Rick Pitinio and the 2023 national champion UConn Huskies. The Crimson Tide shot just 16 three-pointers in those two contests.

Ugonna Onyenso is objectively one of the best shot blockers in college basketball. Averaging 2.9 blocks in less than 20 minutes per game proves that point. However, his development as a true rim protector and all-around defender is still in progress. On Saturday night against the Alabama Crimson Tide he took huge strides in that development. He was incredibly active on the defensive end moving his feet to corral ball handlers, get vertical to disrupt shots, and closing out with discipline on the perimeter. Possessions like this will go in his highlight tape for the NBA. Check out the rest of Kentucky’s defense here too. An effective switch, not converging on the ball as it gets driven, the Onyenso leaving a non-shooter to go force the miss inside.

Of all the great things Kentucky did on Saturday, this might be the most impressive possession on either end of the floor. Considering where the Wildcats came from defensively, seeing this level of concentration, discipline, and execution is genuinely exciting. We talk a lot in our KSR Scouting Report’s about “tightening up as the ball is driven towards you.” This is what that looks like. Watch Reed Sheppard guarding #55 Estrada in the corner as #1 Sears drives it. PERFECT! Watch Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham dribbles it along the baseline. PERFECT! Then, the possession ends with an outstanding individual effort by Sheppard.

As it is happening it can be hard to live with giving up dunks like this. Obviously, in a perfect world, Coach Calipari and the ‘Cats would prefer to not let Alabama dunk it time and time again. However, they also knew that the Crimson Tide couldn’t keep up by scoring two’s. We talked about this in the scouting report as well. Sometimes you have to give up the dunk and live to fight another day. Watch Rob Dillingham make the smart decision to not tag on the roll off of #3 Griffin. Decisions like this are how you hold Alabama to 17 three-point attempts and build a 37 point lead over midway through the second half.

Ugonna Onyenso was absolutely incredible on this possession. Look at him guarding all over the floor in a variety of different capacities. Then, you also get Reed Sheppard not over helping on the ball as #55 Estrada drives it on the baseline. After more good defense from Onyenso and Adou Thiero, Sheppard applies excellent ball pressure on #24 Walters which allows Thiero to jump the passing lane and go finish an And-1. Excellent all-around execution on this defensive possession.

We will always remember what Justin Edwards did offensively to help Kentucky blow out the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. However, he made a couple of great defensive plays as well. His decision to help off of a non-shooter, #2 Nelson, to make a play on the ball here was excellent. It is the aggression and decisiveness that make this play happen. Then, on the other end of the floor, he complete a four-point play. What a night it was for Edwards.