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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Alabama: Postgame Recap and Things to Know

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4 years ago

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UK Athletics

On Saturday, the Kentucky Wildcats went on the road to Tuscaloosa to play arguably their toughest game on the schedule against No. 7 Alabama. Instead of capturing their first marque win of the season, the Wildcats walked out embarrassed.

The Crimson Tide jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead, scoring primarily off of layups and dunks from Alabama’s big man Charle Bediako. John Calipari responded by putting Oscar Tshiebwe on the bench, after poorly defending the pick and roll and generally looking unprepared.

This also coincided with Cason Wallace picking up a second foul, forcing him to the bench for the last fifteen minutes of the half. Yet, the Wildcats didn’t fold and fought to cut the game to a one-point deficit, 19-20, with under five minutes to go.

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However, Jacob Toppin, who had been the primary defender on Brandon Miller, picked up his second foul, and Alabama took full advantage. The Crimson Tide ended the half on an 8-2 run and a 35-24 lead.

The second half is when things really took a turn for the worse. Alabama opened the half with a 15-3 run and Kentucky never punched back. The Wildcat’s offense looked forced and their defense gave Alabama anything they wanted.

In the end, Alabama blew out Kentucky 78-52, handing Kentucky their largest loss in the John Calipari era. Nate Oat’s team looked like many Kentucky teams in the first decade of the Calipari era: star freshmen, long & athletic, and just imposing their will against their opponent.

Let’s take a closer look at Saturday’s all-systems failure.

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Not Oscar Tshiebwe’s or Cason Wallace’s Day

Oscar Tshiebwe (16.8 ppg) and Cason Wallace (12.9 ppg) entered Saturday’s game as Kentucky’s two leading scorers. Against Alabama, the duo combined for just six points on 2-20 (10%) shooting and five turnovers.

The troubles for the two didn’t stop on the offensive end, especially for Tshiebwe. Wallace made some uncharacteristic reads, but as mentioned previously, Tshiebwe struggled mightily to defend the pick-and-roll. After the game, Nate Oats said as so and that it was an emphasis for Alabama.

“We decided to attack him early on ball screens. I don’t think he’s very good at guarding ball screens,” Oats said on Tshiebwe. “We got behind him three times right out of the gate.”

This shouldn’t be expected to be a regular occurrence, but it shows just how reliant Kentucky is on the two, specifically on offense.

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Worst Twenty-Five Minutes of the Season

After a quick start from Alabama, Kentucky fought back and pushed themselves back in the game, down 19-20. However, over the last twenty-five minutes of the game, the Crimson Tide completely dominated on both ends of the court.

In a game of runs, Kentucky could only hold off for so long and they never had a run of their own to answer. After a strong defensive start, the floodgates opened and Alabama scored 58 points in the last twenty-five minutes of the game.

From the sidelines, the coaches were provided an even worse seat for the performance. “Gotta regroup, we’ve got a game Tuesday,” Calipari said. “I don’t even know if I want to watch the tape, maybe the first half.”

Any Positives?

It’s hard to find any positives, especially in an embarrassing loss, but we will reach and find two.

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For one, Kentucky’s bench played fairly well and brought toughness. While Calipari has been in the process of limiting the rotation, he played five players off the bench, including four with 10+ minutes (Collins, Onyenso, Reeves, and Thiero).

The biggest star off the bench was Antonio Reeves, who scored a team-high 20 points, including four made three-pointers. This was his first game with more than 11 points since November, and it was encouraging to see Reeves perform this well against elite competition.

The second positive, Kentucky outrebounded and attempted 19 more shots than Alabama. When this happens, 26-point blowouts are not usually the case. With Kentucky having this many extra shots, they need to play more “deliberate” as Calipari has been reiterating recently, which is something that did not appear to be the case on Saturday.

This team loses if it stays down. With that said, it will interesting to see how they respond against South Carolina on Tuesday, with a matchup at Tennessee on the horizon.

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Men's Basketball

College Basketball Rankings: Where Kentucky Stands in Updated “way-too-early” Polls

Published

1 week ago

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July 3, 2026

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Where Kentucky basketball stands in ESPN and CBS Sports updated way-too-early rankings after more coaching changes, player additions, and injuries.
UK Athletics

Last offseason, Kentucky was considered a top-10 team and a true title contender, but ended the season as one of the most disappointing teams in the country, winning just one game in the NCAA Tournament.

This offseason, Kentucky is barely cracking the top 15 in most preseason rankings and will look to climb the rankings throughout the season rather than fall.

Still 120+ days out from the start of the regular season, ESPN and CBS Sports have updated their “way-too-early” rankings following Dusty May’s jump from Michigan to the NBA, more player additions for teams, and some early-season-ending injuries.

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The rankings remain fairly static, however, with the Wildcats holding steady in ESPN’s rankings while moving ahead of St. John’s in CBS Sports’ rankings following Donnie Freeman’s Achilles injury.

ESPN

17. Kentucky Wildcats

Previous ranking: 17 (no change)

Impact newcomer: Milan Momcilovic

Momcilovic was the best transfer in the portal, after a season in which he established himself as the best shooter in college basketball. The 6-8 forward withdrew from the NBA draft on the night of the deadline, committing to coach Mark Pope’s team a few days later after also being pursued by Louisville and Arizona. He’s immediately an All-America contender and the most dangerous player on the Wildcats’ roster, after averaging 16.9 points and shooting 48.7% from 3 last season.

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Projected starting lineup

Zoom Diallo (15.7 PPG at Washington)
Alex Wilkins (17.8 PPG at Furman)
Milan Momcilovic (16.9 PPG at Iowa State)
Ousmane N’Diaye (9.8 PPG for Cremona in Serie A)
Malachi Moreno (7.8 PPG)

CBS Sports

16. Kentucky Wildcats

Previous ranking: 17 (⬆️1)

This ranking is based on the Wildcats returning one of the top six scorers — specifically Malachi Moreno — from a team that finished 22-14 and advanced to the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic, Washington transfers Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang, Washington State transfer Jerone Morton, James Madison transfer Justin McBride, Providence transfer Alex Wilkins, four-star prospect Mason Williams and international prospect Ousmane N’Diaye.

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Discusses Final Assistant Coach Position, “I’m not in desperate need of adding more pieces”

Published

1 week ago

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July 3, 2026

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Mark Pope isn't rushing to fill Kentucky's final assistant coach opening, saying pending NCAA rules on international players could shift his plans.
UK Athletics

Kentucky basketball has operated this offseason without a full staff. Assistant coaches Alvin Brooks III and Jason Hart left the program back in March, and Mark Pope has only filled one of the two spots since, hiring former NBA All-Star Mo Williams from Jackson State.

Despite that, Kentucky managed to bring in the 3rd ranked transfer class in the country, highlighted by Milan Momcilovic, and have secured a commitment from 2027 five-star Ryan Hampton.

“I like my organization a lot right now. I think this group is functioning at a high level,” Pope said about his staff in an interview with BBN Tonight. “I like the way our staff feels. I like the way we feel in the staff meeting every day. I like the way we’re executing on the road. I like the way we feel on the court right now.”

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With an assistant coach position sitting vacant, Pope is satisfied with how his staff is performing and says there is no urgency in filling the role. Instead, he’s waiting to see how NCAA guidelines and rules unfold in the coming weeks.

“I’m not in desperate need of adding more pieces, although I’m open to the idea,” he said.

“There are going to be a whole host of legal cases from our league testing the CSC and the NCAA on their current guidelines and rules on international players. And depending on what the outcome of those are, it could very much shift the direction we go with hiring.”

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Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Says Kentucky’s Final Roster Spot Is About Fit, “There’s got to be a very uniquely positioned piece”

Published

1 week ago

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July 3, 2026

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Mark Pope opens up on Kentucky Basketball's final roster spot, emphasizing fit over hype as the Nikola Kusturica recruitment nears a decision.
UK Athletics

Kentucky basketball is wrapping up its third week of practice in an eight-week summer training block. While the players are getting acclimated to Mark Pope’s system and to each other, there is still one roster spot to be filled.

“I am enjoying coaching these guys, but we’re also still really active in recruiting,” Pope said in an interview with BBN Tonight.

One name that Wildcat fans have been keeping a close eye on in recent weeks is Nikola Kusturica, a 17-year-old prospect from Serbia, who is currently playing for FC Barcelona and is a projected lottery pick in the 2028 NBA Draft. His recruitment is down to Kentucky and UCLA, with the latter having the momentum and a decision expected soon.

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Whoever the final roster piece will be, Pope emphasizes that they must fit with the other 14 players on the roster.

“Where we are with our roster, there’s got to be a very uniquely positioned piece that fits,” he said.

“There are several different archetypes of piece that would fit this roster really well, but there’s also a lot of guys who are popping up as available or have been available for a little while who don’t turn out to be the fit that’s going to work for this team.”

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