Alabama looks for better start against Kentucky (Mar 11, 2017)
NASHVILLE -- Top-seeded Kentucky, as expected, is in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
The opponent is unexpected.
Kentucky (27-5, 16-2) faces No. 5 seed Alabama (19-13, 10-8) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. UK defeated Georgia 71-60 in the quarterfinals while Alabama upset No. 4 seed South Carolina 64-53 on Friday.
"When I look back at our game against them, we were very lethargic in the first half," Alabama coach Avery Johnson said of his team's earlier loss to Kentucky. "We gave them too much respect, too much fear. We were on our heels the first half for some reason. So we just have to do a better job of starting off the game better. We've got to play more of a 40-minute game against them because they're too good."
Kentucky won the first meeting 67-58 on Feb. 11 in Tuscaloosa. In that win, UK raced out to a 20-point lead before coasting home.
"Hopefully, we're a team that's trying to put something together during this time of the year," Johnson said. "It's not really about what happened during the season. This is just a moment in time where you know if we continue to get better, independent of the team that we're going to play, we'll give ourselves a chance to win."
Kentucky coach John Calipari says the mission is the same in March, regardless of the opponent, but Kentucky will have to improve in one specific area for Saturday's game.
"Postseason is about being able to make it hard for the other team," Calipari said. "The second day in post-season is you have got to be able to score. If you think you can score 60 points in a post-season game and win, you better hope that other team can't make shots. But the problem is, if they're in the tournament, they probably can. So you're going to be a team that can make 70, 80 points because they may make 70, 80, you want a chance to win.
"But at the end of the day, it's how hard can we make it on the other team to score," Calipari said. "You're doing what you're supposed to and don't give hope to that other team."
Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe and freshman guard De'Aaron Fox led Kentucky's win over Georgia with 20 points each. Freshman forward Bam Adebayo had a double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Derek Willis grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots.
In Alabama's win over South Carolina, Braxton Key scored 18 points and Riley Norris added 12. The Tide hit 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
"When you're playing against an outstanding team, a team with players who will be in the NBA in a few months, you don't have much margin for error," Johnson said. "But you don't want to beat yourself either."
In the first meeting, freshman guard Malik Monk was tops with 15 points. Adebyo added 14. Key topped Alabama with 21 points.
