UK pounds Bama into NCAA waiting room

Trevor Releford watches final moments from bench. (AP photo by John Bazemore)

Salvaging some degree of respectability, Alabama cut a 26-point hole down to a 72-58 final margin in a SEC semifinal loss to Kentucky.

Now, it must wait.

With the NCAA selection show set for Sunday evening, the postseason hopes are up in the air for Alabama (21-11).

Read more tomorrow about what players and coaches said about the tournament possibilities.

Welcome back inside the Georgia Dome

It’s game day once again and the stakes are raised. Alabama and Kentucky are both warming up 45 minutes before tipoff in the Georgia Dome with a spot in the SEC tournament finals on the line. A bid in the NCAA tournament could also hang in the balance.

As expected, Cat fans are dominating the seating bowl. There were a hundred or so waiting outside the gate 45 minutes before they opened 20 minutes ago.

Everyone appears healthy for Alabama.

Check back later for more and follow the Twitter feed for most updates. Just click here for that.

What’s behind that curtain?

It’s a question I ask myself every time I see a basketball game played in a dome. Since the playing floor is typically located in the end zone of the football field, half of the Georgia Dome is closed off with a curtain hiding the unused portion.

So what goes on back there? The Daily Bama Blog reveals the secret. Relating this to football, the area pictured below was the end zone Alabama fans inhabited at the 2009 SEC football championship game with Florida.

Check back later for full coverage of Alabama’s semifinal game with Kentucky.

From the football press box.

There was a band running through a wedding reception playlist.

Can Alabama crack top 25 with win at Ole Miss?

Alabama has hovered just outside the top 25 of the Associated Press poll for the past few weeks. Traveling to Ole Miss on Saturday, does the Crimson Tide have a shot at the big time with a win?

It’ll need some help. Here’s the deal:

• No. 22 Kentucky already lost this week at Arkansas and it plays host to 13th-ranked Florida tomorrow.
• No other team ranked 20-25 lost midweek but a few face tough tests Saturday.
• No. 23 St. John’s travels to 15th-ranked Villanova.
• No. 21 Texas A&M plays at streaky Baylor.
• Missouri, the No. 20 team, plays at Kansas State where former No.1 Kansas was blown away a few weeks back.

Of course, Alabama will have to take care of its business in Oxford. Considering how it looked Wednesday against Auburn, it could be interesting.

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Alabama stuns Kentucky, avoids comeback loss

Just when it looked like Kentucky was going to spoil Alabama’s magical night in Coleman Coliseum and the 18-point lead shrunk to 1, the Crimson Tide turned a corner.

The collapse never came. At least not in completion.

Ben Eblen’s steal and free-throw with 2.5 seconds left sealed the crazy win in an arena rarely filled to capacity.

JaMychal Green scored a team-high 18 points followed by Tony Mitchell’s 15.

Read more tomorrow.

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Live bloggin’ Kentucky at Alabama hoops

The crowd is filtering into Coleman Coliseum. Alternating sections have either red or white t-shirts to support the effort to make this place look really cool on ESPN. I watched a lady in a white t-shirt zone pocket the freebie in favor of her crimson jacket.

Either way, you can check out all the game coverage my deadlines will allow on the Twitter home of The Daily Bama Blog. Just click that link to follow along.

Can Alabama beat Kentucky?

Remember folks, we’re talking basketball here.

The Wildcats bring the No. 13 team in the country into Coleman Coliseum this evening. Again, John Calipari has stockpiled young talent, but all three of their losses came away from Rupp Arena.

So, with that, can Alabama beat the Cats?

 

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A sellout for Kentucky/Alabama hoops?

There hasn’t been anything close to a sellout this season for a home Alabama basketball game.

Tuesday’s Kentucky game is the only one that could come anywhere close to filling Coleman Coliseum. According to a release from the school, there are 2,300 seats still available for the 8 p.m. Central tip-off with the No. 13 Wildcats.

The release also said 10,000 t-shirts were donated by an oil company that I won’t give free publicity in this space but is not famous for polluting the Gulf of Mexico. They will help support the effort mentioned in the previous blog posting.

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Bama students jacked up for Kentucky game

There is at least some level of excitement in the air for Alabama basketball and Tuesday’s game with visiting Kentucky.

The “Crimson Chaos” student section is all kinds of excited for this one and is asking for wardrobe coordination that is still apparently the thing to do for a big basketball game televised on ESPN.

If you’re going to the game, check out this map of Coleman Coliseum to see which color you should wear based on your seating section. Surely, this effort will have an impact on the outcome.

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