Notes From Kentucky's Win Over Alabama

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. ALABAMA

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT | BRIDGESTONE ARENA | NASHVILLE, TENN.

MARCH 15, 2019
ATTENDANCE: TBA

Final Score: No. 4 Kentucky 73, Alabama 55

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 27-5 overall and has won three in a row. Alabama is 18-15. 
• Kentucky leads the series 113-38.  In the regular season, Alabama won 77-75 in Tuscaloosa.
• Kentucky advances to the SEC Tournament semifinals vs. Tennessee or Mississippi State. Saturday’s semi is at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. CDT in Nashville). The game will be televised on ESPN.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started the combination of Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and EJ Montgomery for the fourth time. UK is 4-0 with this lineup.
• Tied at 9, Kentucky stormed an 11-0 run over five straight possessions – taking only 1:15 off the clock – for a 20-9 lead.  
• Following an Alabama basket, UK surged six more points for a total run of 17-2 and a 26-11 lead.
• Sparked by nine blocked shots – already a season high – and limiting Alabama to 31 percent shooting, Kentucky took a 39-29 lead into halftime

In the Second Half

• Kentucky opened with the second half with Hagans, Herro, Johnson, Washington and Reid Travis.
• Alabama got the first basket of the half, cutting the deficit to eight at 39-31, but the Crimson Tide got no closer. 
• Kentucky largest lead was the final score at 73-55.

Team Notes

• UK held Alabama to 55 points.  UK is a perfect 73-0 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent to 55 points of fewer, including 9-0 this season.
• UK limited Alabama to 30.4 percent shooting.  UK is 179-15 (.923) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 15-0 this season.
• Kentucky blocked a season-high 11 shots, nine of which came in the first half. 
• Kentucky led the rebounding 42-32, a major difference from the first time these teams met, when Alabama won the rebounding by eight.
• In addition to winning the rebounding, UK also led the points in the paint, 34-18.
• UK led by as many as 18 points tonight.  UK is 257-5 (.981) during the Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. 

In the SEC Tournament

• Kentucky has an all-time record of 134-25 in the SEC Tournament, and has won 13 in a row, including the last four championships.
• UK is 45-11 in quarterfinals games.
• UK leads Alabama 17-2 in SEC Tournament games, including 6-1 in quarterfinals games.
• This is the fourth year in a row that the teams met in the SEC Tournament, with UK defeating Alabama in the 2016 quarterfinals, 2017 semifinals and 2018 and ’19 quarters.
• Coach Calipari is 23-3 in the SEC Tournament.

Looking Ahead to Saturday

• UK is 42-2 in SEC Tournament semifinal games. This marks UK’s sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals.
• UK leads the Tennessee series, 155-72. 
• On February 16, UK won 86-69 in Lexington. 
• On March 2, Tennessee won 71-52 in Knoxville. 
• UK is 12-4 vs. Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, including 5-1 in semifinal games.
• UK leads the Mississippi State series, 97-20, and has won 13 in a row.
• On January 22, UK won 76-55 in Lexington.
• On February 9, UK won 71-67 in Starkville.
• UK is 8-2 vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, including 1-0 in semifinal games.
  

Player Notes  

• Tyler Herro led all scorers with 20 points, his sixth 20-point game of the season and his third 20-point output in the last five games.  
• UK is 18-0 this season when he scores at least 15.
• He made 2-of-2 free throws and has made 62 of his last 63 at the charity stripe.
• PJ Washington had a stat-stuffer game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
• It is his eighth double-double of the season.   
• The four blocks tied his career high, now accomplished six times.
• Ashton Hagans had two points, adding six rebounds and a game-high six assists. 
• Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points, making all four field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.
• The three 3s tied his career high.
• UK is 6-0 this season when he scores in double figures.
• Reid Travis returned after a five-game absence because of a sprained knee.  Playing 23 minutes, he totaled eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 302-69 at UK.  
• Calipari has a 747-209 all-time on-court record.
• UK is 245-40 vs. unranked competition under Calipari, and has won the last 13 in a row.