Proceed to shower. Wash that one off. It won’t help to obsess over Alabama’s football loss to Kentucky.
Despite scoring 95 points, the Crimson Tide was still defeated by over 20. For a defense, it doesn’t get much more uglier than that.
That outcome, in which No. 13 Alabama went into Rupp Arena and lost 117-95 to No. 17 Kentucky, had a lot of negative aspects. That, along with a 1967 game against Vanderbilt, ties for third-most points ever given up by the Crimson Tide.
Moving on and brushing that one off will be crucial. The Crimson Tide’s objectives are still all in place, but it’s difficult to ignore concerns about the defense.
What are we to make of Kentucky’s defeat?
First, how about the bad news?
Though it wasn’t an isolated incident, this was the Crimson Tide defense’s worst outing to date. For the most part of the season, Alabama coach Nate Oats has been disappointed with his team’s defensive performance, and for good reason. It has been far too erratic and nowhere near as good as Alabama’s defense during Oats’ SEC championship seasons. In a season full of defensive blunders, the biggest one was the 117 points given up to Kentucky.
“I told our guys after the game, there have been question marks about our defense all year,” Oats stated. “Every single one of those question marks has been removed. We don’t really guard at this point, as everyone knows. Our effort seemed ineffective to me.
The matchup also reinforced a theme that has emerged throughout the season: Alabama has struggled away from home against most elite SEC teams. The Crimson Tide has lost all three of its SEC games away from home, with Mississippi State being the best opponent Alabama has faced away from home. This season, the Crimson Tide doesn’t really have a standout road victory.
