KSR Today: The Tide Rolls Kentucky Out of the SEC Tournament

Kentucky forward Collin Chandler - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Just like the weather in the month of March, Kentucky went into Nashville like a lion and out like a lamb. The Wildcats followed up a dramatic win over Oklahoma with a blowout 99-70 loss to Alabama, ending their run in the 2025 SEC Tournament.

They say it’s hard to beat a team three times, but Alabama proved that’s not always the case. The Crimson Tide made 9-16 second half three-pointers to outscore Kentucky 54-32 over the final 20 minutes. They’re the first team since 2014 Florida to hand UK three losses in a single season. That team advanced all the way to the Final Four.

Kentucky showed plenty of fight in the first half. The Cats were able to get within four points at the 2-minute mark. There was a chance to turn the tables, and that’s exactly what the Tide did. Alabama seemingly got every loose ball and turned every Kentucky mistake into points. They scored five of their 19 transition points to extend the lead. They used that momentum to step on Kentucky’s throat in the second half.

“I hope it’s really hard ’cause this is not okay for us,” Mark Pope said when asked about flushing away this performance and moving on to the NCAA Tournament. “I hope it’s really hard. But we’re here to do hard things. Like, that’s why we’re here. That’s what we’re chasing, is hard things.”

Bad History Kentucky Made on Friday

Alabama won by 29, but they could’ve named their score. It was the worst postseason loss for the Wildcats since they lost to CCNY by 39 in the 1950 NIT. The quarterfinal elimination extended Kentucky’s SEC Tournament Title drought to seven years, the longest in school history. Looking ahead, they now have a chance to end the longest Sweet 16 drought in school history, and they may have reinforcements on the way.

The Latest on Lamont Butler

The loss sucked, but it felt inevitable without Lamont Butler. After he exited Friday night’s win with a shoulder injury, many feared the worst, that he would be out for the rest of the season. That no longer appears to be the case.

“It’s a totally different unique injury [than his previous one], and the imaging was perfect, so we’re hopeful that he’ll be back in action [for the NCAA Tournament],” Pope said after the game.

In his pregame conversation with Molly McGrath, Pope indicated that if Kentucky made a long run in Nashville, Butler could have potentially returned. The script was flipped in all of the right ways. Let’s just hope that once Butler gets back, this time he can stay back and help his new team get back to a place he’s been to before, the Final Four.

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Alabama is Otega Oweh’s Kryptonite

Without Lamont Butler, Kentucky needed Koby Brea and Otega Oweh to be at their best. Unfortunately, the star of Thursday night could not repeat that performance on Friday.

Oweh’s streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end in Tuscaloosa. This time, much of it was out of his hands. He was called for a foul when he took an elbow to the face. When cameras panned to Oweh on the floor, blood was everywhere. He missed much of the first half and never looked like himself once he returned, finishing with only 8 points on 1-6 shooting from the field.

Otega Oweh's lip looks like this after a foul was called on him. pic.twitter.com/NdX3ir7T5N
— KSR (@KSRonX) March 15, 2025

The SEC Tournament Officiating is Something Else

Oweh was the latest victim of bad injury luck, but Alabama got the memo from Nate Oats to play physical basketball. They were clearly the better team by a wide margin on Friday. That does not diminish the questionable officiating on display in Nashville.

Officiating was a talking point long before Kentucky took the court Friday night. Jay Williams used the ESPN desk to warn SEC teams that their physical play might cost them in the NCAA Tournament. In the first ten games of the SEC Tournament, officials called 39.4 fouls a game and teams shot 48.1 free throws. It Just Means More Fouls, even if the calls aren’t always correct.

Championship Saturday Schedule

My favorite Kentucky basketball therapy is burying it with more basketball. We got plenty of that today. You probably knew that the ACC, Big 12, and Big East title games were tonight, but that’s only three of nine conference championship games on today’s slate. Automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament will be doled out in the America East, Big West, C-USA, MAC, MAAC, MEAC, Mountain West, SWAC, and WAC.

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV Info	Odds
Maine @ Bryant	11:00 AM	ESPN2, ESPN+	BRY -7.5 (O/U 142.5)
Princeton @ Yale	11:00 AM	ESPNU, ESPN+	YALE -7.5 (O/U 146.5)
#8 Tennessee @ #3 Auburn	1:00 PM	ESPN	AUB -4.5 (O/U 140.5)
#18 Wisconsin @ #7 Michigan State	1:00 PM	CBS, Paramount+	MSU -3.5 (O/U 144.5)
South Carolina State @ Norfolk State	1:00 PM	ESPN2, ESPN+	NORF -1.5 (O/U 143.5)
Loyola Chicago @ VCU	1:00 PM	CBSSN	VCU -9.5 (O/U 138.5)
Dartmouth @ Cornell	2:00 PM	ESPNEWS, ESPN+	COR -5.5 (O/U 158.5)
Tulane @ #16 Memphis	3:00 PM	ESPN2, ESPN+	MEM -9.5 (O/U 149.5)
#5 Alabama @ #4 Florida	3:30 PM	ESPN	FLA -3.5 (O/U 174.5)
#22 Michigan @ #11 Maryland	3:30 PM	CBS, Paramount+	MD -4.5 (O/U 150.5)
Saint Joseph’s @ George Mason	3:30 PM	CBSSN	JOES -1.5 (O/U 131.5)
UAB @ North Texas	5:00 PM	ESPN2, ESPN+	UNT -3.5 (O/U 135.5)
Arizona @ #2 Houston	6:00 PM	ESPN, ESPN+	HOU -7.5 (O/U 134.5)
Boise State @ Colorado State	6:00 PM	CBS	BOIS -1.5 (O/U 139.5)
Creighton @ #6 St. John’s	6:30 PM	FOX	SJU -6.5 (O/U 140.5)
Mount St. Mary’s @ Iona	7:30 PM	ESPNU, ESPN+	IONA -3.5 (O/U 135.5)
Miami (OH) @ Akron	7:40 PM	ESPN2, ESPN+	AKR -5.5 (O/U 156.5)
#13 Louisville @ #1 Duke	8:30 PM	ESPN	DUKE -5.5 (O/U 145.5)
Jacksonville State @ Liberty	8:30 PM	CBSSN	LIB -6.5 (O/U 130.5)
Alabama State @ Jackson State	9:30 PM	ESPNU, ESPN+	JKST -3.5 (O/U 140.5)
UC Irvine @ UC San Diego	9:30 PM	ESPN2	UCSD -5.5 (O/U 132.5)
Grand Canyon @ Utah Valley	11:30 PM	ESPN2, ESPN+	GCU -3.5 (O/U 141.5)

Kentucky Baseball Drops SEC Opener

While you were locked into the SEC Tournament, the Bat Cats were kicking off SEC play. Things did not go too well for Nick Mingione’s squad. Kentucky took a 6-2 lead in the top of the third, but it was all Georgia from there. The Dawgs beat Kentucky 12-6 at Foley Field in the SEC opener. The Bat Cats will take another swing at it this afternoon at 2 p.m. EST on SEC Network+.

In other baseball news, it’s really cool to see Shohei Ohtani reward his fans in Tokyo with a bomb. What a scene. Sports!