Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s blowout loss to Alabama
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s surprising 85-65 loss to Alabama in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night:
1. This was the 1-6 Kentucky
The Kentucky that commits too many turnovers. The Kentucky that misses too many shots. The Kentucky that digs itself a big hole and fails to rally. The Kentucky that lost five of its first six games in the 2020-21 basketball season.
We thought the Cats were past all that. They had won three straight games. They had played their best game of the season Saturday at Florida, trashing the Gators 76-58 in Gainesville. That Kentucky dished out 18 assists. It made 55.8 percent of its shots. It built a lead and widened it on the way to going 3-0 in the SEC.
Then came Tuesday. Throwback Tuesday, unfortunately. Kentucky shot just 34.4 percent. It made but four of 18 three-point shots. It committed 19 turnovers, compared to just seven assists. It watched Alabama drain 14 of 30 three-point shots. When the Tide wasn’t bombing, it was driving around UK defenders for baskets. Several were and-one baskets.
“Not one of our players played well,” Calipari said. “Obviously, I didn’t coach well.”
Adding insult to injury, Alabama was playing short-handed. Jahvon Quinerly, the transfer from Villanova, missed his third straight game because of an undisclosed illness. Herb Jones scored eight early points then left the game with 10:57 left in the first half because of a wrist injury. Jordan Bruner, the grad transfer from Yale, played just 19 minutes because of a knee injury.
Bama won anyway. Bama didn’t just win, it won big. The 20-point margin was the Crimson Tide’s largest margin in Rupp Arena since 1974.
Said Calipari: “This might be a burn-the-tape game.”
2. The three-point shot is a difference-maker
Alabama’s 14 made three-pointers were the most by a UK opponent since VMI went 19 of 38 against the Cats in Rupp Arena on Nov. 18, 2018. It was the fourth-highest number of made threes against Kentucky in the Calipari era.
That’s the way Alabama plays under second-year coach Nate Oats. The Tide runs and guns. It spreads the floor. It shoots a ton of threes. Tuesday night, Bama was on fire from three. John Petty was four of seven from three. Jones, Burner, Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford each made two three-pointers. The Tide was 10 of 22 from three in the first half alone.
“First half they made 10 (threes),” Calipari said. “They were either uncontested or we were late getting there.”
A made three-pointer does more than score three points. It lifts a team’s spirits. It gives players confidence. It instills the belief that, “Hey, this is going to be our night.” And when you go 4-for-18 as UK did Tuesday, the opposite is true. Each miss can chip away at a basketball team’s soul.
Calipari admitted afterward that maybe his team just isn’t a very good three-point shooting team. In other words, maybe the numbers don’t lie. Dontaie Allen is UK’s best perimeter shooter and even he had a troublesome Tuesday. Allen missed three of his five three-point attempts.
Calipari said the Cats can win other ways. But first, they have to execute. And fight. The coach said he told the team after the game he was going to look for five players who would fight and those were the five that would play.
Still, in the way the game is played today, it’s good to have shooters.
3. The road has been a friendlier place for Kentucky
Blame it on the limited attendance of only about 3,000 in Rupp Arena because of the coronavirus. Blame it on the odd configuration of the benches, or the lack of crowd noise, or the unusual feel of trying to play basketball in a pandemic. Pick your excuse. Kentucky has not played well at home this season.
The Cats are now 2-3 in Rupp in 2020-21. They beat Morehead, then lost to Richmond. They trailed Notre Dame by a jaw-dropping 22 points at halftime, then lost by one. They beat Vanderbilt 77-74 but were not all that impressive in downing the ‘Dores. Then Tuesday they suffered the biggest home loss, by margin, in the Calipari era.
The good news? Kentucky heads back out on the road for the next two games. The Cats are at Auburn on Saturday. They are at Georgia next Tuesday. Auburn nor Georgia has won an SEC game to this point. And Kentucky is 2-0 on the road in the SEC with wins at Mississippi State and Florida.
That doesn’t mean the next two will be easy. Auburn has a freshman point guard in Sharife Cooper who just became eligible. He scored 26 points in his first collegiate game last Saturday against Alabama. And Kentucky has had its struggles against Bruce Pearl in the loveliest little village on the plains. Likewise, Georgia has not always been the easiest place for Calipari’s teams to play.
Kentucky reverted Tuesday. No doubt about that. Now 4-7, they can’t afford to revert again. Looking down the road, the margin for error is thin. And a 20-point home loss didn’t help.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 12:51 AM.
