NASHVILLE – Using a second-half barrage to bury 6-seed Kentucky under an avalanche of 3-pointers and dunks, Alabama pulled away for a 99-70 win in the Friday Night quarterfinals finale at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
So now it’s official. The four top teams in the tourney – 1-seed Auburn, 2-seed Florida, 4-seed Tennesse and now 3-seed Alabama — have validated their seeding and will face each other in Saturday’s much-anticipated semifinals at Bridgestone Arena.
Alabama (25-7) advances to a semifinal matchup today with the 2-seed Gators at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The Crimson Tide began putting some separation between themselves and the Wildcats at the very start of the second half, going on a 14-8 run that added to their 45-38 halftime advantage and suddenly had them enjoying a 13-point cushion at 57-44.
It gradually kept building from there.
The Wildcats, statistically one of the highest-scoring teams in the SEC but also one of the worst defensively, gave up wide-open back-to-back dunks in the middle of the lane to Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate and Aiden Sherrell and suddenly the lead was extended to 69-52 with 12:38 left to play.
And the onslaught did not stop, even after a quick timeout was called by Kentucky coach Mark Pope. It was a futile effort to stem the Tide.
The Tide eventually led by as many as 30 points, outscoring the Wildcats 54-32 overall over the final 20 minutes that must have seemed an eternity to the few pro-UK fans who withstood the duration in the arena.
Labaron Philon led Alabama with 23 points on 8-for-14 field-goal shooting. But it was a balanced attack, with Jarin Stevenson adding 16 and the trio of Mark Sears, Aden Holloway and Dioubate contributing 13 each.
The game was tied at 14 when Alabama went on a 9-0 run over 2:02 that was capped by Philon’s three-point play on a layup and a free throw. That suddenly gave Bama a 23-14 lead with 11:24 left in the first half.
But the Tide went cold briefly and Kentucky quickly got right back in it. The Wildcats pulled to within 25-21 following a layup by Mouhamed Dioubate with nine minutes remaining, then Bama surged ahead again by eight, 31-23, on a 3-pointer by Jarin Stevenson as the pace of the game – and the scoring – picked up dramatically.
That seemed to suit both sides.
The remainder of the opening half was frenetic, filled with high-scoring action. That wasn’t surprising at all, as these are the two highest-scoring teams in the SEC this season. Alabama ranked No. 1 in the conference with a scoring average of 91.2 points per game over all games this season, and Kentucky came in at No. 2, averaging 85.8.
Conversely, they also are the two worst teams in the league this season as far as surrendering points. Kentucky ranks next-to-last in the SEC in points allowed in all games, giving up an average of 77.2 – and Alabama is last, giving up an average of 81.1.
That set them on a collision course for precisely the type of game that Friday night’s affair became, where they basically were trying to outgun each other.
It remained that way for the remainder of the first half, with Alabama leading, 45-38, at the break.
The dam broke early in the second half for Kentucky, and the Tide rushed to the lopsided win to set up a Saturday semifinal showdown with Florida.
Oats, Philon accentuates Bama’s tough-minded play
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