Alabama knows that neither success nor failure in the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville is necessarily a predictor of what will happen in the NCAA tournament.
The No. 5-ranked Crimson Tide (24-7) has won the conference tournament twice in the last four seasons but did not advance past Sweet 16 in either season. Since last season, they lost to Florida in the first round of the SEC tournament before making a run for the program’s first final Four.
Third seeds Alabama will make its debut in this year’s Sec tournament against Sixth-Ereded and No. 15-ranked Kentucky (22-10)-which defeated Oklahoma 85-84 on Thursday-in the quarter final on Friday evening.
“We will try to win it,” said Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats. “We have won more championships in Sec than everyone else since I have been here. This is a championship we are trying to win.”
The tide enters the tournament after a last second, 93-91 overtime victory on the road to Rival and then no. 1 ranked Auburn in his final in the regular season last Saturday.
Alabama has looked like a team ready for a deep march run throughout the season, led by All-Sec First team guard Mark Sears and Sec All-Freshman guard Labaron Philon. But oats said that less handy players as guard Aden Holloway and forward Mouhamed Dioubate and Jarin Stevenson may be the key to the team’s fate in March.
“If we get all these guys who play their best basketball,” said oats, “we have a pretty high roof. … if we don’t stop winning (the SEC tournament) there will be some positive effects that we try to sell the guys on.
“But that’s not the goal. The goal is to go there and win three in a row and win a championship and get us to play on a run that goes into the NCAA tournament.”
Alabama beat Kentucky twice during the regular season, 102-97 on January 18 in Lexington and 96-83 on February 22 in Tuscaloosa.
Wildcats lost guard Lamont Butler to debt injury during the first half against No. 14 Seeds Sooners, and his availability for Friday is in doubt. In his absence, Kentucky turned the ball three times and was outsic 7-0 at the last minute when Oklahoma took a one-point lead with six seconds left.
But Otega Oweh, who led Wildcats with 27 points, took an incoming pass in Backcourt, sprinted past two defenders and drove along the baseline to score on a run at the last second.
“If you are going to beat us, you have to kill us,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope told Sec Network. “Now we have to drive it back tomorrow.”
Kentucky led 40-38 at half time and opened a 54-48 advantage early in the second half. The Sooners crawled within one point before Oweh and Koby Brea, who finished with 22 points, each made a 3-pointer and Oweh added a 3-point game during an 11-0 run that put Wildcats forward 77-65 lead with 4:31 left.
The leadership unannounced, but Oweh made sure Kentucky continued to play.
“We just have to build on this great speed,” Oweh said. “Alabama is a good team, but we just have to worry about us and what we do.”
-Field level media
