Some Notes From Kentucky's Semi-Final Win Over Alabama

Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes

Kentucky vs. Alabama – Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals

March 11, 2017, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Attendance: TBA

Final Score: No. 8/8 Kentucky 79, Alabama 74

                                                              

Team Records and Series Notes:

• Kentucky has won 10 in a row – its longest winning streak of the season -- and is 28-5 overall. 
• Alabama is 19-14 overall.
• Kentucky leads the series 110-37 and has won eight in a row vs. the Crimson Tide.  
• Earlier this season, UK defeated Alabama, 67-58, in Tuscaloosa.
• UK is 15-2 vs. Alabama in the tourney, including 6-0 in semifinal games.
• Next for the Wildcats: on Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT (noon EDT in Nashville), UK takes on the winner of the Vanderbilt-Arkansas game.   
• This season vs. Vanderbilt: on Jan. 10, UK won 87-81 in Nashville; on Feb. 28, UK won 73-67 in Lexington.
• This season vs. Arkansas: on Jan. 7, UK won 97-71 in Lexington.

In the First Half:

• Kentucky’s starting lineup featured De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Malik Monk, Isaiah Briscoe and Derek Willis.
• Kentucky improved to 7-0 with this lineup.
• After coming off the bench the previous seven games, Willis has started four in a row.
• Adebayo is the only Wildcat to have started all 33 games of the season.
• Alabama came out strong, jumping out to a 17-7 lead, the fourth time in the last five games that UK has trailed by at least 10 points.
• Kentucky took its first lead with an 11-0 run, making it 18-17.  
• Monk began the spurt with a 3-pointer, extending UK’s streak of 1,008 games with at least one successful long ball.
• UK eventually stretched it to a 22-5 run for a 29-22 lead, its largest advantage of the half.  
• UK went scoreless the last three minutes of the half, taking a 33-32 lead into intermission.

In the Second Half:

• Tied at 40, with the shot clock expiring, Fox swished a jump shot and was fouled. He hit the free throw for a three-point play with 15:06 remaining. 
• Kentucky never trailed again. 
• That started an 11-2 run that also featured a Dominique Hawkins 3-pointer, a Monk 2+1, and two foul shots by Briscoe to give the Wildcats a 51-42 lead.
• Alabama stormed back by scoring on eight straight possessions to pull within 62-61.
• At that juncture, Fox scored UK’s next nine points, keeping the Tide at bay by …
• making 1-2 foul shots on two possessions
• converting a traditional 3-point play 
• hitting a free-throw line jumper and driving banker – both in the final seconds of the shot clock – to make it 71-63
• UK made 8 of 10 foul shots in the final 1:13 to hang on to the victory.

Team Notes:

• This marked the fourth time in the last five games that Kentucky fell behind by at least 10 points out of the gate but came back to win each game.  
• UK trailed Florida 18-6 (Feb. 25), Vanderbilt 25-6 (Feb. 28), Texas A&M 19-4 (March 4) and Alabama 17-7 (today)
• Four double-digit comebacks in the same season ties the most in the Calipari era, also in 2013-14
• Kentucky shot 52.3 percent from the field. 
• UK is 15-0 this season when shooting at least 50 percent.
• UK is 26-1 this season when shooting at least 42 percent.
• Kentucky made 27 of 39 free throws, one shy of its season high in each category.
• UK had 20-20 vision on offense for the second-consecutive game as Fox scored 28 points and Monk tallied 20. Fox and Briscoe had 20 each vs. Georgia on Friday.
• Alabama won the rebounding today, 33-28, ending a nine-game streak in which UK had won or tied the boardwork.  
• Calipari has a 690-192 (.782) on-court record, including a 245-52 (.825) mark at UK.

In the SEC Tournament:

• UK is 129-25 (.838) all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 41-2 (.953) in the semifinals.
• UK is 15-2 vs. Alabama in the tourney, including 6-0 in semifinal games.
• UK is 18-3 in the SEC Tournament under Calipari, going to the finals for the seventh time in his eight seasons (4-2 in previous finals).
• Kentucky is 30-10 all-time (.750) in SEC Tournament title tilts. 

Player Notes:  

• Freshman De’Aaron Fox had a career-high 28 points.
• With Alabama lurking at 62-61, Fox scored UK’s next nine points (extending lead to 71-63), and he scored 12 of UK’s final 17 points.
• He made 11 of 15 foul shots, career highs in both categories.
• It is his ninth 20-point game of the season.
• Fox has made a 3-pointer in five straight games, his longest such streak of the season.  During that stretch he has made 6 of 11 of his 3-pointers. 
• Freshman Bam Adebayo had 10 points and led UK with nine rebounds and three steals.
• He is averaging a double-double over the last nine games, 14 points and 10 rebounds per game over that span. 
• Freshman Malik Monk tallied 20 points, his 18^th 20-point effort of the season. 
• Senior Dominique Hawkins had seven points today, averaging 5.8 over the last eight games.