Alabama’s run in the SEC Tournament came to an end Saturday, as the Crimson Tide could not hang on late against top-seeded Kentucky in a 79-74 loss to the Wildcats inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Alabama (19-14) battled for much of the contest, heading into the half trailing just 33-32, but allowed the Wildcats (28-5) pull away late to end any chance the Tide had of achieving a NCAA Tournament berth this season.
Kentucky will move on to its fourth straight SEC Tournament championship game where it will face the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal game between No. 3 seed Arkansas and No. 7 seed Vanderbilt. The championship game will be played at noon Sunday and will be televised on ESPN.
Tide's top performers
Dazon Ingram carried Alabama on offense, leading the Tide with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting. The redshirt freshman had nine points in the first half. Riley Norris scored nine points to go with six rebounds while going 6 of 8 from the line.
Bola Olaniyan had a productive day off the bench, contributing eight points and four rebounds. However, the 6-foot-7 forward was sent back to the bench early in the second half when he picked up his fourth foul with 14:37 remaining. Corban Collins also had eight points off the bench, while Avery Johnson Jr. scored seven.
The difference maker
A day removed from leading the Tide with 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting against South Carolina, Braxton Key had a game to forget Saturday. The true freshman scored just 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting, including just two points on 0-for-6 shooting in the first half. Key had a chance to tie the game, as he was fouled beyond the arc with Alabama trailing 64-61 and 3:30 remaining. However, he failed to capitalize on the possible momentum shift, missing 2 of 3 free throws. Key was 3 of 6 from the line on the day.
Meanwhile, Kentucky's freshman duo of De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk were near unstoppable on the afternoon. Fox scored a game-high 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting, while Monk scored 20 points.
It was over when
Key missed a contested jumper with 11 seconds remaining and Alabama trailing 78-72. Before that, Kentucky was able to take control of the game as Fox hit a jumper to give the Wildcats a 71-63 lead with 1:41 remaining.
Next up
Alabama’s chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament are now dashed, as the only way the Tide could have made the “The Big Dance” was through the automatic berth provided by winning the SEC Tournament.
However, all is not lost for Alabama.
The Tide most likely secured its third straight trip to the NIT with a 75-55 win over Mississippi State in its opening game of the SEC Tournament. Friday’s 64-53 victory over South Carolina was probably enough to ensure a home game in that tournament. Alabama will learn its fate tomorrow during Selection Sunday.
While the nation’s second-tier postseason invitational tournament was not the goal for Alabama heading into the season, the Tide can use it a springboard for what promises to be an exciting year next season. Alabama will return its top four leading scorers in Key, Ingram, Norris and Johnson while bringing in the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation.
The Tide lost 72-54 to Creighton in the first round of the NIT last season. The last time Alabama failed to reach a postseason invitational tournament was in 2014 when it finished with a 13-19 record under former head coach Anthony Grant.
