Proceed to shower. Wash that one off. It won’t help to obsess over Alabama’s basketball 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 let up by the Crimson Tide.
Moving on and brushing that one off will be crucial. The Crimson Tide’s objectives are still fully in place, but it’s difficult to ignore concerns about the defense.
What are we to make of Kentucky’s defeat?
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 cause. 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.
The Crimson Tide’s general performance away from Coleman Coliseum against strong teams, especially in conference play, is concerning.
Alabama is still very much in the running to win the SEC, even with that one defeat. If the Crimson Tide wins their remaining games against Tennessee at home and Ole Miss away, they should have a solid chance of winning the SEC regular season championship for the third time in four years. Maybe Alabama can win the SEC at home, which is as good of news as it gets given how the team has occasionally performed away from home.
