LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — An endless string of love letters have been written about the dazzling strength of men’s basketball in the Southeastern Conference this season.
Don’t forget to say this: You can play a solid game, hit big threes early, overcome a string of obstacles, get big performances from a trio of players and still take a decisive defeat in the SEC.
Ask Kentucky and Mark Pope.
Chasing their eighth victory over a Top 15 opponent, the Wildcats instead slipped to 7-7 in the SEC and 18-9 overall with a 96-83 loss to No. 4 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
"I thought our guys competed all night long," UK coach Mark Pope told Tom Leach on the UK Sports Network. "We just weren't good enough tonight ...
"... we know what our end goal is and it's a freaking fight to get there. And we've got to fight. We've got to keep getting better."
The Crimson Tide swept two games from UK this season, and the loss left the Wildcats tied with Mississippi State for eighth place in the SEC.
Otega Oweh had a lost afternoon. He missed eight of nine shots. He never got to the free throw line. He exited with 6 minutes and 49 seconds to play after scoring 2 points in 22 minutes. Mark it down as the first game this season Oweh failed to score at least 10 points.
With a subpar game from Oweh and starting guards Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler still sidelined by injuries, the Wildcats were unable to sustain a strong start.
Four UK guys scored in double figures. Koby Brea had 20, making four shots from distance.
"It was definitely a physical one," UK guard Travis Perry said on the UK Sports Network after the game. "I felt like we played very hard."
But the Wildcats defense collapsed. They allowed 87 points in the final 34 minutes. Alabama guard Mark Sears, the preseason pick of many as the SEC player of the year, tormented UK with 30 points. Bama scored 38 points in the paint and 24 off turnovers. Although Bama made more turnovers than UK (15 to 13), the Wildcats scored only 11 points off the Crimson Tide mistakes.
"It was us kind of having some possessions we want to take back," Pope told Leach.
Pope blamed the turnovers leading to easy Alabama baskets and poor transition defense.
Alabama’s credentials as a 1-seed for the men’s NCAA Tournament started wobbling this week.
The Crimson Tide can score like crazy. But sometimes they defend like they’re playing at Seneca Park. Auburn put 94 easy points on Bama last weekend. Then Missouri followed it up with a 110-point knockout punch.
Saturday Kentucky started the game as if the Wildcats intended to exceed what Auburn and Missouri did.
The Wildcats surged to a 20-9 lead in the first 5 minutes and 15 seconds. Perry made a three. Brea made a three. Andrew Carr made two of them. The Wildcats hit 8 of their first 12 shots.
And then Kentucky made only seven more field goals the rest of the first half. Alabama made a pair of sustained runs, building a 47-40 lead by halftime. Alabama students wearing their white “New Blood,” T-shirts started believing the Crimson Tide could return to the Final Four for the second consecutive season.
Kentucky’s offense picked up in the second half. The defense did not. Bama scored 49 points and shot nearly 58 percent over the last 20 minutes. Sears finished strong, scoring 15 points while making a pair of threes in the second half.
"That (guarding Sears) was a challenge for us," Pope said. "We couldn't find answers for him."
The Wildcats face another road game Wednesday. They visit Oklahoma. Although the Sooners sit in a tie for 14th place in the SEC with a 4-10 record, the Sooners ended a 5-game losing streak by defeating Mississippi Saturday. It’s also the same Oklahoma team that started the season with 13 consecutive victories while winning the Battle 4 Atlantis. In the SEC winter, there’s no time to exhale.
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