As Kentucky entered the final media timeout of their game with undefeated in SEC play Alabama, they held a two-point led. Over the remainder of the game, Alabama would outscore the Wildcats 18-5 and pull away for the victory. It was just the latest installment in a season of frustrating losses for Kentucky.
"But, again, we had a two-point lead, with the ball, miss a shot, they make one, we come down, you know, don’t execute. And we did stuff at the end where we had our chances," said Coach John Calipari. "I mean, we had our chances. We, again, got out-toughed. Just makes me sick. We got out-toughed. Not throughout the game. We fought like crazy. The last three minutes, dudes backed away. Playing – you ready? – not to lose vs. playing to win. Play. We’re running simple stuff with, put it in guys’ hands."
How does Kentucky fix those struggles, Senior Olivier Sarr had an answer. "“I think for us it’s just staying locked in all the way. All the way through the 40 minutes. We see what we can do for a good part of the game. We did some great things defensively. We just can’t break down at the end. We can’t let go. We’ve got three more minutes to go or four or whatever it is.”
Dontaie Allen hit four of seven from behind the arc to help lead UK in scoring with 12 points. He plated 24 minutes and had two rebounds, two assists, two steals, a blocked shot and three turnovers. It took him just 10 seconds to make his presence known with a three pointer that cut Alabama's 10-2 lead to five points.
Sarr and Davion Mintz joined Allen with 12 points. Mintz had UK's other two three-pointers as they went 6-14 from behind the arc while holding Alabama to 6-20.
Cal was frustrated with his team's inability to play through a physical defense the Crimson Tide were playing.
"My guys: ‘They’re grabbing my arms!’ Dude, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to get thrown out again? You’ve got to be strong with the ball."
They tied Alabama with 34 rebounds and held them to just six offensive rebounds but the Wildcats committed 17 turnovers.
"We had 17 turnovers again. You know what I’m saying? You keep that to 10 or 12 and get your assists up to 15, 16, 17, 18, you win. We win this game. Same deal," said an obviously frustrated head coach about a season-long problem.
With the mounting losses, the door of the NCAA tournament is almost closed. The one realistic shot is winning the SEC tournament to be played in Nashville, Tennessee on March 10-14. It was a status that Calipari was not ready to accept.
“Yeah, it is, because we’ve got all kind of games left. We’re going to have six or seven ranked teams. I mean, what happens to us, Terrence (Clarke) comes back and all the sudden we’re a different team. My belief is let’s just put ourselves in a better position. This was one of them, right here, right here. Beating LSU, winning this game. Now, all of the sudden, all right, let’s go. And life changes. But we’re just not ready to finish a game off. We’re inexperienced, we don’t have the physical toughness, the mental toughness to make shots late. My belief is that we’re going to break through.”
For the players, Sarr said he was not thinking that far in advance. "I'm just trying to think next game."
That game is versus Texas who will be without their head coach who is quarantined after covid exposure. As part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the Wildcats face the #5 rated Longhorns at 8 p.m. in Rupp Arena. UK is 4-3 in the challenge and have won three straight games. It will be a big challenge for them to continue that streak.
Other Notes:
- Kentucky was held to a season-low 59 points for a third time this season.
- UK is now 0-10 this season when scoring 65 or fewer. The Wildcats are 5-0 when totaling at least 76 points. They have not scored between 66 and 75 points in a game this season.
- Kentucky held Alabama to 39.2% shooting. UK is 206-23 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the field but only 4-4 this season.
- UK has held five of its last six opponents to less than 40% from the floor, including four straight games.
- Kentucky held Alabama to six 3-pointers, the Tide’s second-lowest total in a game this season.
- Alabama was held to three vs. Clemson, one of its three losses, on Dec. 12, 2020.
- UK shot just 35.2%, the sixth time this season below 40%. The Wildcats have lost all six of those games.