Watch the Tape: Alabama Crimson Tide

Kudos to anyone who took the under last night. There wasn’t expected to be a rock fight break loose in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, but that is what we got. Kentucky found a way to win a 66-55 slugfest over the Alabama Crimson Tide to move to 19-4 overall, 8-2 in the SEC.

The Wildcats were able to hold the Crimson Tide to the lowest scoring output of the Nate Oats era at Alabama. Kentucky’s defense was elite, but admittedly a 3-30 shooting performance from beyond the arc was a little bit fluky. An 0-7 shooting night from Jaden Shackelford was most surprising, but credit to the ‘Cats defense for making it hard on the Alabama shooters all night long.

In today’s edition of Watch the Tape will be doing a deep dive on Kentucky’s continued dominance on the defensive end of the floor. Also, TyTy Washington stepped back up with a big game offensively and we will key in on his shot-making ability. Let’s step inside the film room and look at how Kentucky was able to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Kentucky Becoming Elite Defensively

A lot of the focus goes to the offensive side of the ball and that is all well deserved. However, the Kentucky Wildcats are an elite defensive team and deserve to be talked about as such. They made a jump to #11 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating with Saturday night’s performance. Let’s take a look at some of the plays that stood out in holding the Alabama Crimson Tide to just 55 points.

First of all, there aren’t many players in the country who can guard JD Davison 40-feet from the basket and bother the ball. Sahvir Wheeler is one of those defenders. Secondly, Oscar Tshiebwe does a great job of pushing the catch out beyond the scoring area with some off-ball pressure on his man. Finally, Kellan Grady displays high-level effort by staying in the play to tip the ball out from behind the ball handler. This all led to a dunk for Davion Mintz.

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There is no more denying it. TyTy Washington is this team’s best defender and it isn’t particularly close. His ability to stay in front of the ball and use his length to create deflections is unmatched. In this clip you see him move his feet to stay in front of Jaden Shackelford’s left-hand drive and then tip his pass allowing Daimion Collins to get a steal. High-level defense right there.

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Daimion Collins showed Saturday night why he might still be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft despite playing limited minutes for this Kentucky team. His length and athleticism are just hard to replicate. In this clip, he knocks the ball away from Jahvon Quinerly while guarding the ballscreen and then moves his feet to protect the rim at the end of the drive and forces a turnover.

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If there was a live camera on me when I watched this defensive possession back you would all be laughing at me. This got me up out of my seat clapping my hands at the computer screen. First off, this was excellent transition defense. We talked about how Alabama is coming at you fast all the time, and Kellan Grady did a great job of cutting off the initial drive. Then, Sahvir Wheeler fought over the top of two ballscreens with excellent on-ball pressure. However, it was the final play that really got me excited.

In the KSR Scouting Reports, we talk a lot about “tightening up as the ball comes towards you.” Well, TyTy Washington does that right here. If you pause the clip right as #13 Quinerly is picking the ball up you see Washington already closing out to #5 Shackelford. That allows him to give a hard contest on the shot and forces a miss. It is a small detail, but it is a game-changer when it comes to getting a stop.

Making Bad Shooters Shoot

We all knew that Alabama was going to let it fly from beyond the arc. That is the coaching philosophy of Nate Oats. However, the green light extends a little too far this season. Alabama went 3-30 on Saturday night with a 1-12 performance from players that were labeled as non-shooters on the scouting report. Kentucky did a great job of making the non-shooters take 3-point attempts.

Kentucky plays Alabama again in just two weeks. Let’s all sign up for as many 3-point attempts as James Rojas wants to shoot. He is 3-17 on the season (in seven games) after going 0-4 last night. He was 6-26 last season — a willing shooter that isn’t a maker. Dare him to shoot!!! As you see, he missed the entire hoop.

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When we write the KSR Scouting Reports we don’t just make stuff up. If you stay between Jahvon Quinerly and the basket he will have a hard time scoring. However, that is a pretty hard proposition. TyTy Washington was up to the task last night. He moved his feet extremely well on this possession and it ended up with a Noah Gurley 3-point attempt. Gurley is 13-48 on the season.

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Keion Brooks made a great decision to help on #13 Quinerly’s drive. The guy he was guarding is now 1-12 from 3 this season. We will let him shoot as many 3s as he is willing to take.

TyTy Washington Shot-Making

As a general rule of thumb, you should recruit the best players and figure the rest out later. TyTy Washington is the type of player that you can just give the ball to and let good things happen. After a couple of off nights by his standards, the Wildcats star freshman was back to his normal self on Saturday night.

You almost feel bad for Alabama when shots like this start going in. Most defenses are set up to try and force the offense into long, two-point jump shots. However, Washington is at his best from that area of the floor. Alabama executed their defensive game plan on this possession, but TyTy Washington was just better.

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There just really isn’t much you can do about this. This is why you want TyTy Washington on your team. Elite shot-maker.

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TyTy Washington has a unique ability to drive it hard in either direction, stop on a dime, and make pull-up jumpers. He is incredibly athletic with elite balance and coordination. Shots like this are almost unguardable. He was the best player on the floor against Alabama.