NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 5/8 Alabama men’s basketball team cruised to a 99-70 victory over No. 15/19 Kentucky in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night in Bridgestone Arena. The 99 points are the second-most ever scored in an SEC Tournament by the Crimson Tide (25-7).

Labaron Philon led the charge with 21 points to go with four assists, three steals and three rebounds. Jarin Stevenson added 16 points including 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc while Mark Sears, Aden Holloway and Mouhamed Dioubate each had 13 in the win.

The Wildcats (22-11) were led by Andrew Carr’s 18 points, while Amari Williams added 16 points, seven boards and four assists.

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments

“We wanted to turn up our defensive intensity and I thought we did. I thought our ball pressure caused them some problems. Our plan was to try to keep them out of transition and get them off the three-point line and pressure the ball. On defense and on offense, I thought we could attack more. Obviously, that’s a thinner Kentucky team, we’re fortunate that they weren’t as deep as us. I thought our transition could get to them and we ended up breaking them towards the end of the first half and early in the second half. These guys played great. This is the best Jarin (Stevenson) has played all year and Labaron (Philon) is peaking at the right time.”

Team Stats

• Alabama captured its 11^th win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season 
• For the first time in program history, Alabama has won three straight games over Kentucky
• The Tide controlled the paint outrebounded UK, 41-34
• UA owned a 29-6 edge in points off turnovers and a 19-3 advantage in fast break points
• Mark Sears moves to No. 6 on Alabama’s all-time scoring list with 1,867 points, passing Jerry Harper
• Alabama shot 51 percent (36-of-71) from the field, 38 percent (11-of-29) from three-point range and 76 percent (16-of-21) from the charity stripe
• In comparison, Kentucky was 38 percent (21-of-56) from the floor, 26 percent (5-of-19) from deep and 66 percent (23-of-35) from beyond the arc

First Half 

• With the score tied at 14-14 with 13:45 left to play, Alabama took the lead for good by going on a 9-0 to take a 23-14 lead at the 11:24 
• The Tide would go on to take a 45-38 lead into the locker rooms
• Labaron Philon led Alabama in scoring with 13 points to go along with three assists, three steals, one rebound and one block
• The Crimson Tide’s starting frontcourt of Grant Nelson (seven points and three rebounds) and Clifford Omoruyi (seven points and four rebounds) combined to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds in the first half
• The Tide outscored the Wildcats 26-18 inside the paint and 12-2 in bench points

Second Half

• The Crimson Tide outscored the Wildcats 54-32 in the second half as six players had at last six points in the stanza
• Alabama opened with an 11-2 run to take a 57-44 lead, forcing Kentucky to call a timeout at the 16:20 mark 
• Kentucky didn’t get any closer than 11 points the rest of the game and would not get within 20 over the final 7:58 
• Alabama would go on to lead by as many as 30 points (97-67) before settling for the 29-point win
• UA hit eight threes over the final 20 minutes (8-of-15) 

• Jarin Stevenson led the charge with 12 points in the half on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from deep

Up Next

• Alabama will take on No. 2 seed and No. 4/4 ranked Florida in the tournament semifinals
• The contest will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT following the first semifinal between Auburn and Tennessee
• It will mark the second meeting in two weeks between the two teams, as the Gators defeated the Tide, 99-94, in Coleman Coliseum on March 5