Alabama basketball survives scare to record season sweep of Kentucky

Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats preaches hustle. The general belief is that no matter how bad things get, the Crimson Tide’s blue-collar approach will sort out success eventually.

Things got really bad for Alabama at times Tuesday night. However, it wasn’t anything a little elbow grease couldn’t rub out.

Struggling to buy a bucket for much of the second half, Alabama turned up its intensity late to secure a 70-59 victory over Kentucky inside of Coleman Coliseum.

With the game tied at 54 with 3:14 to play, Keon Ellis poked away a ball from Kentucky's Brandon Boston Jr. Jaden Shackelford came up with the ball before dishing it out to forward Juwan Gary for a transition layup to give Alabama the lead.

“Credit Keon Ellis, he did well coming off his man and getting a big gap steal,” Shackelford said. “I just saw the ball, grabbed the loose ball and Juwan got on the run. That sparked that run for us. That was big-time by Keon Ellis. That really started that run for us.

Alabama recorded a stop on Kentucky’s next possession before Ellis recorded a steal on the Wildcats’ following trip up the floor. Alabama turned that defensive dominance into a 10-0 to put the game away and avoid an ugly upset.

"We said we were going to win the game on defense," Oats said. "Our offense was struggling and we said we needed to get some stops, some run-outs."

With the win, Alabama (14-3, 9-0 in the SEC) extended its winning streak to 10 games, its longest run since it started the 1996-97 season with 10 consecutive victories. The Tide has also won its first nine conference games, its best start since the 1955-56 “Rocket 8” team finished the year with a perfect 14-0 mark in league play.

Alabama also recorded a season sweep of Kentucky for the first time since 1989. The Tide beat the Wildcats 85-65 in Lexington, Ky. earlier this month. Kentucky moves to 5-10, 4-4 in the SEC following Tuesday night’s loss.

Alabama missed its first six shots to start the second half and finished the period just 6 of 19 (31.6) from the floor. Despite its late shooting struggles, the Tide never found itself in too big of a hole as Kentucky’s biggest lead on the night came when it went up 54-52 shortly before Alabama’s late resurgence.

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket as Alabama shot 39 percent from the floor while Kentucky shot 35 percent. After making an SEC record 23 3-pointers against LSU last week, Alabama shot just 6 of 20 (30 percent) from beyond the arc Tuesday nihgt.

Despite the frustrating performance on the offensive end, the Tide was able to keep its composure, forcing 17 Wildcats turnovers which it turned into 20 points. While Alabama couldn’t find its rhythm from the floor it was able to connect on 24 of 28 free-throw attempts, helping it put the game away late.

Shackelford led Alabama with 21 points, while Herbert Jones also had a big night with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. John Petty Jr. and Joshua Primo both had 10 points apiece to round out Alabama’s double-digit scorers.

Next for Alabama is a game at No. 24 Oklahoma as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The game is set to tip off at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will be televised by ESPN2.

The knocks are beginning to pile up for Alabama. The Tide is currently without starting forward Jordan Bruner, who missed the last four games with a knee injury. On top of that, several of Alabama’s active players are playing through pain.

While James Rojas was able to make a brief appearance following a medical condition that kept out against Mississippi State over the weekend, the forward saw just two minutes against Kentucky. Meanwhile, Jones is still banged up from a series of injuries, including a fall he took over the weekend against Mississippi State.

Tuesday, Alex Reese had to leave for the locker room after a collision in the first half. The forward returned to record 20 minutes on the night but registered just 3 points and four rebounds.

Even with a banged-up frontcourt, Alabama still won the battle down low, outscoring Kentucky 28-16 in the paint. Gary played admirably off the bench recording 6 points and three rebounds over 16 minutes.

“Without the bigs that we’d typically have, we knew we were going to take a beating on the glass,” Oats said. “I thought some guys fought. Herb you could tell was limping around. I think his back is still banged up from that fall he took against Mississipi State. He was one rebound and two assists away from a triple-double. So I can’t say enough about Herb.”

Bruner warmed up with the team before the game. The graduate forward picked up his injury during the game at Kentucky on Jan. 12 and was given a prognosis of 4-6 weeks before he can return to the court.

Last week, Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly looked back at Primo’s first few months with the Crimson Tide back in the summer

“When he first got here, he was a nervous little freshman,” Quinerly recalled.

Boy, have things changed since things

A day after being named SEC Freshman of the Week, Primo came out firing Tuesday night, connecting on his first four shots, including two from beyond the arc. The Toronto, Ontario native finished with 10 points, his fifth double-digit performance in six games. Primo shot 2 of 4 from beyond the arc Tuesday night. Over his last three games, the freshman is 12 of 17 (70.5 percent) from 3.

Alabama will get a break from SEC play this weekend. However, its trip to Norman, Okla. will hardly be a walk in the park. The Tide is set to face a Sooners team, coming off of three straight wins, two of which coming against top-10 opponents.

After beating Kansas,75-68, at home over the weekend, Oklahoma knocked off No. 5 Texas, 80-79, on the road Tuesday night.

Oats said he will go over Alabama's recent win over Kentucky on Wednesday while his assistants move on to game prep for Oklahoma. While the Tide has the day off from practice Wednesday, Oats said he will go over Tuesday night's game with his players before getting into a game plan for Sooners on Thursday.

"It's a huge game," Oats said. "We're winning games in the SEC. If we could get a non-conference win in late January, that would be huge for our resume come March. We're putting ourselves in a position where we could have a really high seed. This came could go a long way."