Poythress returns, helps Kentucky roll over Tide

When Alex Poythress looks back on this season, he’ll surely remember Alabama fondly.

Poythress scored 14 points in his return from a knee injury to lead Kentucky to a 78-53 victory Tuesday night.

Poythress, who hadn’t played since Feb. 2, scored a career-high 25 points in UK’s victory at Alabama in early January.

When asked why Poythress excelled against his team, Alabama Coach Avery Johnson said, “He’s quick for our big guys. He elevates and gets off the floor.”

Then as if reminding reporters that Poythress can be a good player against any team, Johnson added, “We’re talking about a guy, if he didn’t get injured, he probably wouldn’t be in the building tonight.”

Of course, Poythress played only eight games last season before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in mid-December.

Poythress injured his right knee before the Florida game on Feb. 6. When asked to confirm speculation that he tore meniscus, he only said, “Just tweaked it.”

Coincidence that Poythress returned against the Tide? “This was just the timetable from the beginning,” he said when asked why Tuesday night.

UK Coach John Calipari said it was “amazing” that Poythress could be a factor in the victory after having only participated fully in one practice.

A fresh body probably came in handy since Kentucky was playing its third game in six nights, and its first without Derek Willis, who watched the game from the bench with a protective boot on his right foot.

The Cats looked fresh in keeping sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference. UK improved to 11-4 in the SEC and 21-7 overall.

“They had that fire in their eyes,” Johnson said. “They were one step faster than us. They jumped about two steps higher than us. So give them credit.”

As always, UK’s Three Tenors contributed mightily. Jamal Murray celebrated his 19th birthday with a team-high 23 points.

Tyler Ulis added 19 points and 10 assists.

Isaiah Briscoe chipped in 10 points.

Alabama, which fell to 16-11 overall and 7-8 in the SEC, was led by guard Retin Obasohan. He scored 29 points, which was the second-most by a UK opponent this season. Only Wayne Selden, who scored 33 for Kansas, has had more.

Obasohan got little scoring help. He made nine of 13 shots, while his teammates made only eight of 35.

“We had one guy who tried to do his best to be competitive against both (Ulis and Murray),” Johnson said. “But, it was basically two against one.”

Obasohan scored 15 of Alabama’s 21 points in the first half. Still, Kentucky led by as many as 17 points en route to a 33-21 halftime lead.

Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland’s gushing praise of Obasohan echoed in the mind.

“He is a load, let me tell you,” Howland said on Monday. “I think he is one of the best players in our league. … He’s consistently attacking ‘bigs’ coming off pick-and-rolls, and he’s so good finishing around the rim with his size.”

Obasohan, a senior from Belgium, made four of seven shots in the first half. His teammates made only two of 16: the first a three-pointer by Riley Norris from the left corner and the second an awkward banker by Justin Coleman as he drove down the left side of the lane and shot with his right hand.

Kentucky expanded its lead to as much as 19 points by the second television timeout of the second half.

Poythress continued to give UK a post presence. His authoritative post-up over Michael Kessens put the Cats ahead 49-33 with 12:47 left.

The post-up was part of a 12-1 run that gave Kentucky its largest lead yet: 55-33 with 11:26 left.

“If I don’t feel they can guard me, I try to be aggressive from the start,” Poythress said.

Kentucky’s loss at Texas A&M on Saturday spurred Poythress. “He was sick about Texas A&M,” Calipari said.

Poythress, who is not given to flowery declarations, said he did feel he could have helped UK beat the Aggies.

Poythress’ effective play against Alabama inspired Calipari to ponder how good Kentucky could be if the senior forward gives the team the long-sought-after post presence.

“We have really good guards,” Calipari said. “Like we have really, really good guards. If we can shore up that front line, I like what we have here.”

Sanderson returns

Former Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson attended the game. Johnson invited Sanderson to accompany the team on a road trip this season. Sanderson picked the game at Kentucky.

Johnson asked Sanderson to speak to the players.

“I told them we blew out Kentucky here (pause for comic effect) 48-46,” he said in reference to the 1982 SEC Tournament finals in Rupp Arena. The Tide beat UK on Eddie Phillips’ tip-in at the buzzer.

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This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Poythress returns, helps Kentucky roll over Tide."