Alabama batters Kentucky with 3-point barrage in SEC men's basketball opener

Ben Roberts, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jan 3, 2026

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The bad news for the Kentucky Wildcats? They lost to Alabama on Saturday afternoon. Again.

The good news for Mark Pope’s team? This is the only time the Cats will play Bama this season.

After going 0-3 against the Crimson Tide in Pope’s first year as UK’s head coach, the Wildcats dropped their SEC opener in Coleman Coliseum, where 14th-ranked Alabama defeated Kentucky, 89-74.

The two teams are not scheduled to play again in 2026, though UK and Bama could meet in the postseason. Last year, the Tide ousted the Cats from the SEC Tournament with a 99-70 victory, marking the most lopsided loss in that competition in Kentucky’s history.

Saturday’s game didn’t get that ugly, but it looked like it was headed that way early on.

Alabama earned its first double-digit lead of the game when Houston Mallette nailed a 3-pointer to put the home team ahead 27-16 with 8:24 left in the first half. The Tide led by as many as 21 points on two separate occasions late in the period before Kentucky closed the gap with an 8-0 flurry that extended into the final minute.

Bama’s Aden Holloway ended that run with a 3-pointer in the final seconds to send the Crimson Tide to the halftime locker room with a 50-34 advantage.

The Tide, which came into the game as the nation’s most offensively efficient team, were 10 for 22 from 3-point range in the first half alone. They finished at 15 for 38 from deep.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats struggled to find their rhythm offensively, with Bama’s defense forcing UK into midrange attempts early on. Kentucky was 11 for 29 from the field and 2 for 9 from deep in the first half.

The Cats fared better offensively in the second half, and an early run out of halftime narrowed Alabama’s advantage to 55-45 before the first TV timeout of the period. UK fell behind by 19 later in the second half, but another run — capped by a driving basket from Jaland Lowe — cut Bama’s lead to 77-68 with fewer than six minutes left. Another bucket from Lowe made it 79-70 a short time later. But that’s as close as the Cats would get.

A long 3-pointer by Holloway made it 84-70 on the first play following the final TV timeout of the game.

Pope’s team shot 46.7% in the second half and finished at 42.4% from the field. The Cats were just 4 for 19 on 3-pointers, and Alabama outscored UK by 33 points from beyond the arc.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 22 points, adding eight rebounds. Lowe had 21 points in 27 minutes off the bench. No other UK players scored in double figures.

In his third game of the season, sophomore big man Jayden Quaintance was neutralized early by the Crimson Tide and finished with five points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.

UK junior forward Mouhamed Dioubate, who played his first two college seasons at Alabama, was booed during pregame introductions and given the same treatment every time he touched the ball. He finished with six points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.

Holloway led Alabama with 26 points, while SEC leading scorer Labaron Philon finished with 17 points and had some key buckets in the second half.

Kentucky dropped to 9-5 on the season, and the Cats are now 0-5 against teams in the current AP Top 25 rankings. All of those five losses have come against teams currently ranked in the top 15.

Alabama improved to 11-3 and will be among the favorites to win the SEC regular-season title. Tide head coach Nate Oats improved to 7-5 against Kentucky and 4-0 against Pope.

UK now returns home for two league games in Rupp Arena, starting with the Missouri Tigers on Wednesday night. Mizzou (10-3) has struggled relative to preseason expectations and entered Saturday at No. 65 in the KenPom ratings, placing the Tigers at 14th in the SEC.

UK will stay in Lexington for its third conference game against Mississippi State next weekend. The Bulldogs came into Saturday at No. 83 in the KenPom ratings, placing 15th in the SEC.