The historic Rupp Arena has a way of breaking down opposing teams even before its hosts hit the hardwood. The 23,500-seat venue has been a house of horrors for the Alabama basketball team which entered Saturday’s game against No. 14 Kentucky with eight straight defeats to the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky.

Saturday, Rupp resembled something out of The Twilight Zone as a hot-shooting Alabama offense was made to look pedestrian while a Kentucky offense that came into the day ranked No. 300 in 3-point shooting excelled from beyond the arc. That ultimately led to another disappointing trip up north for Alabama is it fell, 76-67, to Kentucky.

Saturday’s outcome snapped a five-game streak of 90-point performances for Alabama (8-7, 1-2 in the SEC). The Crimson Tide entered the matchup leading the SEC in scoring offense (84.4) and threes made per game (11.1) while ranking second in three-point shooting percentage (37.2). Against Kentucky (12-3, 3-0), Alabama shot 37 percent from the floor while making just 4 of 21 shots from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Kentucky shot 44 percent from the floor and made 9 of 15 of its 3-point attempts. Entering the game, the Wildcats made just 30.10 percent of its shots from deep. The victory marked Kentucky’s 1,000th SEC regular-season win.

Despite starting the game 5 of 20 from the floor and 0 of 6 from beyond the arc, Alabama was able to hang with Kentucky, dominating the offensive boards while taking advantage of some sloppy play from the home team. Alabama had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, while Kentucky turned the ball over nine times before the break, leading to 11 Crimson Tide points.

Still, a cold-shooting Alabama slowly saw its deficit grow as Kentucky took a 45-35 lead into intermission. The Crimson Tide continued to dominate the offensive glass in the second half, chipping the deficit to 59-55 on an and-one layup from Herbert Jones.

Alabama later took advantage of a 2-of-12 spell from Kentucky as two free throws from Kira Lewis Jr. brought the score to 63-60 with five minutes to play. However, back-to-back 3s from Kentucky guards Immanuel Quickley and Ashton Hagans built the Wildcats’ lead back up.

Trialing Kentucky 71-67 with 1:24 remaining Alabama forward Javian Davis saw his driving layup rim out. From there, Quickley hit a 3 to burry the Crimson Tide for good.

Jones led Alabama with a season-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. John Petty Jr. had 16 points while making three of the Crimson Tide’s four 3s on the afternoon. Lewis was also in double figures with 10 points to go with eight rebounds.

Quickley led Kentucky with 19 points while shooting 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Hagans also had a big game, scoring 15 points to go with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Alabama returns home to Coleman Coliseum as it takes on No. 5 Auburn on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. The Tigers entered Saturday as one of two remaining undefeated teams in Division I college basketball.

Auburn swept its two meetings with Alabama last season, beating the Crimson Tide 84-63 at home and 66-60 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Tigers feature four players averaging double figures in scoring in Samir Doughty (15.6 points per game), Isaac Okoro (13.6 ppg), J’Von McCormick (11.8 ppg) and Austin Wiley (10.9 ppg). Whiley entered the day second in the SEC with 9.4 rebounds per game and fifth in the league averaging 1.9 blocks per game. Okoro entered the day third in the SEC with a 57.7 field-goal percentage.

Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here