Cats blitz Alabama, 117-95

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky took a season's worth of homecourt frustration out on one of the SEC's best teams Saturday at Rupp Arena.

The No. 17 Wildcats flexed all of their offensive muscles against Alabama, shooting 63% from the field, knocking down 13 3-pointers, and scoring 29 points off turnovers en route to a stunning 117-95 romp over the No. 13 Crimson Tide.

Freshman wing Justin Edwards had his long-awaited breakout game for Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC). The five-star prospect from Philadelphia, who has struggled to find his stride with the Cats, nearly delivered a perfect game, going 10-for-10 from the field, 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 at the line on his way to a career-high 28 points.

“It felt good," Edwards said. "I had been struggling mentally the whole season, so to go out there and to play how I did felt good... I stay in the gym, and I just believe in God.”

"I kept saying, you're going to break through, I believe in you," UK head coach John Calipari said of Edwards. "He said, coach, I believe in you. And I said, you just gotta stay the course. I said to the team today, he has lived in the gym. He made every shot."

It was contagious. Kentucky was shooting nearly 70% as a team deep into the second half as it built a 37-point lead on the shell-shocked Tide. The Cats hit the century mark with 8:47 remaining and finished 13-of-24 from beyond the arc with four different players making multiple treys.

"When a guy like that who's that athletic goes 4-for-4 from 3, you're in trouble," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said of Edwards, who was undefendable on this day.

In addition to Edwards, the Cats got 24 points from senior guard Antonio Reeves, 18 points from freshman center/forward Zvonimir Ivisic, 16 points from freshman guard Rob Dillingham, and 12 points from sophomore forward Adou Thiero.

Freshman guard Reed Sheppard added another stat-stuffing line to his resume, scoring eight points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out six assists, and recording four steals.

"Kentucky was ready to play tonight, we weren't," Oats said. "Cal had his guys ready to go. I didn't. They looked great. We looked awful."

Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) got 21 points from sophomore guard Rylan Griffen and 20 points from senior standout guard Mark Sears, but he committed six of the Tide's 16 turnovers.

The Tide's prolific 3-point shooting never got a chance to get rolling as UK made it a point to chase them off the line. They scored 56 points in the paint but finished 6-of-17 from the arc.

"Our plan, what we were trying to do, wasn't to contest 3s... it was don't give them any," Calipari said. "We're going to give them some dunks and layups. Did we? But I didn't think they could beat us shooting 2s, so if we were going to give them something, it was going to be that."

*****

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

KEY MOMENT:

Kentucky had a comfortable 58-42 lead at the half but was not content to sit on it. The Wildcats blitzed Alabama with 34 points in the first nine minutes of the second half. Edwards had 11 of his points during the extended run, including a four-point play that nearly tested the roof integrity at Rupp Arena when he was fouled on a 3-pointer and made his free throw.

GAME BALL:

Justin Edwards, Kentucky -- Easy choice today. The five-star prospect almost pitched a perfect game, going 10-for-10 from the field, 4-for-4 from the arc, and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line. He also had five rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes of action.

BY THE NUMBERS:

3 - Wins over KenPom Top 10 teams by UK (No. 5 Auburn, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 North Carolina).

7-1 - The Wildcats' record coming off a loss this season.

24:10 - Assist-to-turnover ratio for UK.

117 - Points were the most by the Cats against a ranked AP opponent in school history. The previous mark was 113 against No. 13 Notre Dame on Dec. 28, 1974.

117-41 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Alabama, including a 60-11 mark in Lexington.

QUOTABLE:

"He'll tell you he’s just had to fight and just stay positive and talk to people about it. And he's really grown from it. And now he's back. He's getting his rhythm and is finding out who he is as a player, and it's really fun.” -- UK freshman guard Reed Sheppard on Justin Edwards' big day.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action Tuesday at Mississippi State in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN. The Bulldogs (18-8, 7-6 SEC) play later tonight at LSU.