Bama thumps Cats

Kentucky's downward sprial against ranked opponents continued on Saturday at No. 7 Alabama.

The Crimson Tide used a 27-8 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half on their way to a 78-52 rout of the Wildcats at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.

It marked Kentucky's worst losing margin to Alabama in the 157-game history of the series and one of only six times that the Cats have lost by 26 or more points to an SEC opponent in program history.

Kentucky (10-5, 1-2 SEC) also slipped to 4-14 in its last 18 games against ranked opponents, including all three matchups this season.

Alabama (13-2, 3-0 SEC) got 19 points from Brandon Miller, 16 from Mark Sears, and 12 from Jahvon Quinerly on a 48% shooting day for the Tide.

Meanwhile, Alabama held Kentucky to an abysmal 29% from the field. The Cats' top three players -- Oscar Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace, and Jacob Toppin -- went scoreless in the first half and finished a combined 3-for-30 from the floor.

"Wow. We might just burn the tape," UK coach John Calipari said. "... It was all of us, including me. We all got pounded."

Late in the game, the home crowd at Coleman Coliseum began chanting "NIT! NIT!" at the demoralized Cats.

"Hopefully, we're not as bad as we looked today," Calipari said. "... We got rattled. A bunch of guys got rattled."

Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 20 points off the bench. Sahvir Wheeler added 15 points, but no other player scored more than four for the Cats.

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

After falling behind 13-4 in the game's opening minutes, Kentucky scratched and clawed its way back to a 21-19 deficit with under four minutes to play in the first half. But Alabama closed the first period on a 14-5 run and followed that up with a 13-3 spurt to begin the second half and take complete command. UK coach John Calipari referred to the final four minutes of the first half as the difference in the game.

GAME BALL:

Mark Sears, Alabama -- The junior wing scored eight of his 16 points in the opening moments of the second half to help bury the Cats. He also had six rebounds and dished out four assists. Brandon Miller led the Tide with 19 points, but that was expected of the soon-to-be NBA lottery pick. It was Sears' performance that paved the way to a blowout.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Time during Oscar Tshiebwe's UK career that he has been outrebounded by an opponent (Alabama's Brandon Miller, 7).

21-4 - The Crimson Tide's advantage in transition scoring.

-25 - Oscar Tshiebwe's +/- for the day, the worst mark for any UK player.

26-8 - Trips to the free-throw line for Alabama and UK, respectively. The Tide had a +13 edge in scoring at the line.

31 - Alabama's largest lead at 72-41 with 4:49 remaining in the game.

2013 - The last time that UK lost an SEC game by 26 or more points, falling 88-58 at Tennessee. That game was the first after the Cats' top player, Nerlens Noel, tore his ACL in a game at Florida.

QUOTABLE:

"We played better when the starters weren't in. That can't be who we are. No way." -- UK coach John Calipari

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday at Rupp Arena against South Carolina. The Gamecocks (7-7, 0-1 SEC) are playing Tennessee in Columbia, S.C. this afternoon. Tipoff for UK and South Carolina is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.