Kentucky basketball: Wenyen Gabriel and the Cats roll Bama in the SEC Tourney
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team rolled over the Alabama Crimson Tide to advance to the SEC Championship game tomorrow. Wenyen Gabriel led the way for the Cats with 23 points.
The Kentucky basketball team dismantled the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats won big, knocking off Bama 86-63. Wenyen Gabriel tied a career-high with 23 points and was 7-for-7 from downtown. The Wildcats as a team shot 12-for-18 (66.6%) from behind the three-point arc.
The Cats led by 10 at halftime, 29-19. Kentucky used its suffocating defense to keep Alabama’s star Collin Sexton under control. The Crimson Tide freshman started the game 2-of-3 from the field, but was only 4-of-11 after the first TV timeout. Sexton finished with 21 points to lead the Tide and converted 8 of those 21 points from the free throw stripe.
In addition to Gabriel’s amazing offensive performance, the Kentucky basketball team go some timely minutes from fellow-sophomore Sacha Killeya-Jones. John Calipari appeared to show some more confidence in the slender big man from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. SKJ played 16 minutes, his most since UK’s loss at Missouri on February 3rd. Killeya-Jones finished a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, scored 6 points, grabbed 5 boards and had 2 blocks.
The Kentucky basketball team got good production from PJ Washington and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as well. Washington got the start and chipped in 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Cats. Gilgeous-Alexander had 19 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds.
The Kentucky basketball team only grabbed 1 offensive rebound, but that’s because the Cats were shooting the lights out in the Scottrade Center. The Wildcats as a team shot an astonishing 64.3% from the field. That’s flat out getting it done! The Cats also hit 20-of-28 from the foul line, with SGA getting to the stripe a dozen times.
This was Kentucky’s 11th straight SEC Tournament victory and their 5th straight trip to the SEC Tournament finals. The Wildcats will play the winner of the late game between Tennessee and Arkansas. I think all of Big Blue Nation wants another crack at the Vols. We’ll see what happens in the nightcap.