National Basketball Association
Kentucky 70, Alabama 55
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 31, 2015
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Marc Ellard, # Byron Jarrett, # Mike Nance
Attendance:
24351
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Kentucky 70, Alabama 55: Freshman Devin Booker scored 11 points and the Wildcats used their usual balanced attack to beat the visiting Crimson Tide in SEC play.
Willie Cauley-Stein notched 12 points and Aaron Harrison added 10 for Kentucky (21-0, 8-0), which is the only undefeated team in Division I after No. 2 Virginia lost to Duke 69-63 on Saturday. Karl-Anthony Towns scored all 12 of his points in the first half for the Wildcats, who improved to 97-4 at Rupp Arena under coach John Calipari.
Shannon Hale finished with 13 points to lead Alabama (13-8, 3-5). Levi Randolph scored 12 points and Retin Obasohan had 11 for the Crimson Tide, who lost despite shooting 45.9 percent and holding a 26-21 edge in rebounding.
Alabama lost all chance of keeping it close in the first half by scoring two points over a span of eight-plus minutes. A 3-pointer by Tyler Ulis made it 20-7 in favor of Kentucky and back-to-back baskets by Cauley-Stein pushed the lead to 28-10 before Alabama rallied to make it 37-24 at intermission.
After Kentucky got a pair of 3-pointers from Booker and one from Andrew Harrison to go up 52-31 with just under 15 minutes remaining, the teams basically traded baskets the rest of the way. Marcus Lee supplied eight points and five rebounds and Dakari Johnson finished with six points for the Wildcats.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Alabama made 8-of-18 from the floor in the first half, but had 10 turnovers and one assist. ... Behind combined 16-of-19 shooting from Cauley-Stein, Towns, Lee and Booker, the Wildcats shot 58.5 percent. ... Kentucky's start is the third-best in school history, trailing the 1965-66 squad that won its first 23 games and the 1953-54 club that finished 25-0 while declining an NCAA bid after three players were ruled ineligible because they already graduated.
Top Game Performances
Alabama |
|
Kentucky |
Shannon Hale 13 |
Scoring |
Willie Cauley-Stein 12 |
Justin Coleman 2 |
Assists |
Tyler Ulis 4 |
Michael Kessens 5 |
Rebounds |
Marcus Lee 5 |
Retin Obasohan 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Willie Cauley-Stein 4 |
Levi Randolph 2 |
Steals |
Aaron Harrison 2 |
Shannon Hale 1 |
Blocks |
Dakari Johnson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Alabama
|
55 |
45.9 |
4-16 |
17-25 |
4 |
20 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
Kentucky
|
70 |
58.5 |
7-15 |
15-23 |
14 |
19 |
1 |
5 |
5 |