Alabama basketball bounced back from two consecutive losses on Saturday, beating Kentucky 96-83 in Tuscaloosa. The win was a big one for the Crimson Tide, which is still looking to secure a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.

The win moved UA to 22-5 on the season, 11-3 in SEC play. The Tide return to action Tuesday at Coleman Coliseum, facing Mississippi State.

Before that, here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win.

Right track

Entering Saturday’s game, Alabama needed to get out of a tailspin. A week ago, the Crimson Tide had a real chance to win the league title, a dream likely crushed by losses to Auburn and Missouri.

UA hasn’t lost three games in a row since December of 2023. It still has motivation late in the season, with NCAA and SEC Tournament seeding on the line.

And on Saturday, against a top 25 team, Alabama returned to form. Mark Sears, who had played his best game of the season in the loss to Missouri, led the way against the Wildcats, finishing with 30 points, four rebounds and four assists.

After falling behind early, the Crimson Tide retook the lead in the first half and never again trailed. As the game dragged late, Alabama stayed in control, playing much better basketball than it had over the past week.

With No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 2 Florida and a rematch with No. 1 Auburn on the horizon, a win to get things moving in the right direction was sorely needed.

“The good thing about playing a schedule like that, is you’re not gonna play three games in a row like that until you get to Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game if we’re fortunate to get that far,” Oats said.

Better start

Alabama’s previous two losses shared a common theme. The Crimson Tide got down big early.

Against Auburn, the Tigers went up 9-0, and went on to win by nine points. At Missouri, a 12-0 deficit that resulted in a 12-point Crimson Tide loss

“We gotta come out like we’ve got our hair on fire,” UA head coach Nate Oats said Friday. “Like the season’s riding on the line. Because there’s a lot still riding on this game. It’s NCAA Tournament seeding. It’s SEC tournament seeding. It’s giving yourself a chance to still be in it if things fall certain ways at the end of the year.”

Alabama managed to score the first two points of the game, but still didn’t get off to much of a start. Kentucky was up 16-9 at the first timeout, and led by as much as 12 during the first half.

However, the Crimson Tide came through big late in the half. Sears led the team with 15 points in the first 20 minutes, and Aden Holloway had 12.

Eventually, Alabama went on a 20-4 run, regaining the lead. When the teams headed to the locker room, UA led 47-40. Still, the beginning of the game didn’t excite Oats.

“I gotta go look at video again, I thought we’d have a little better start,” Oats said. “There were still turnover issues.”

Sears SZN

Throughout the 2024-25 season, Sears has been up and down. He famously was benched against LSU, with Oats saying he went with the players who could give him the best defensive effort.

Oats also didn’t seem pleased with Sears following the Tide’s loss to Auburn. However, the Muscle Shoals native has rebounded over the past two games.

“Sears is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play since he’s been here,” Oats said after the game. “On both sides of te ball… His defensive effort’s been pretty good, best it’s been, and then I think offensively, he’s been really efficient, so proud of the effort.”

In Alabama’s loss to Missouri, Sears went for 30 points, which Oats said was perhaps his best performance of the year. He followed it up in a big way against Kentucky.

Sears was supposed to be the Crimson Tide’s superstar this season, but struggled at times. If he can continue his recent strong efforts, it could help Alabama return to top form as the teeth of its SEC schedule continues.