Instant Reactions: Alabama flexes muscle, routes Kentucky in SEC Tournament quarterfinals
On Friday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide were officially back in action for the first time in nearly a week, taking on the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. With a spot in Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal up for grabs, Alabama and Kentucky met for the third time this season, with the Crimson Tide looking for their third-straight victory over the Wildcats, this time on a neutral court. Previously, Alabama picked up a 102-97 victory in Lexington, followed by a 96-83 win weeks later in Tuscaloosa. In Nashville however, it was all Crimson Tide once again, as Alabama defeated Kentucky for the third time this year in what was easily the most impressive showing yet, 99-70. Alabama owned the second half of the contest by outscoring Kentucky a combined 54-32, and simply controlled the contest from start-to-finish in an impressive showing.
Labaron Philon leads the way for Alabama There were few players on the court Friday night who had more of an impact on the game than Alabama freshman guard Labaron Philon, who led the Crimson Tide with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Philon also finished with three rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Alabama dominates points off turnovers, fast break points Two of the more notable stats from Alabama’s dominant showing was their points off turnovers, as not only did the Crimson Tide commit 10 compared to Kentucky’s 16, but also turned those 16 Wildcat turnovers into 29 points, while Kentucky only had six. The Crimson Tide also won the fast break points battle in transition, outscoring the Wildcats a combined 19-3.
Derrion Reid makes return for Alabama After a lengthy absence due to an injury, Alabama freshman forward Derrion Reid made his official return for the Crimson Tide on Friday night. Seeing fairly limited action, Reid finished with a final stat line of two rebounds and one assist, while also missing his lone shot.
Mouhamed Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson big off Alabama bench Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate was yet again a significant contributor off the bench for the Crimson Tide, making a huge impact in this game by finishing with a near double-double at 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Jarin Stevenson also finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and three steals on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, as well as 3-of-5 from three. Alabama advances to SEC Tournament semifinal vs. Florida As a result of this win, Alabama now sits at 25-7 overall for the season, and keep their chances of a No. 1 seed alive going into a SEC Tournament semifinal matchup with Florida on Saturday afternoon. With the winner advancing to the SEC Tournament championship game Sunday, Alabama vs. Florida will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.