There’s a silver lining in Kentucky basketball’s painful SEC Tournament defeat

Kentucky basketball guard Otega Oweh speaks to the media about getting stitches in his torn lip during the Wildcats’ 99-70 loss to Alabama in the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 14, 2025. By John Clay

The bad news: Kentucky’s 99-70 defeat to Alabama on Friday night marked the worst loss, by margin, in the history of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament for the Wildcats.

The good news: Kentucky basketball will not face Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, or any other SEC basketball teams for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

Of course, this may not be entirely accurate. With up to 14 SEC teams likely receiving NCAA Tournament bids on Sunday, it’s almost inevitable that some teams from the country’s top conference will clash somewhere in the bracket.

Still, you get the point. The grueling, intense, surprising, rewarding, frustrating, painful, and even bloody (just ask Otega Oweh) journey of playing 20 games in what could be the toughest college basketball conference in history has finally concluded.

“We talked about it from the start,” Pope said late Friday night (or early Saturday morning). “It’s going to either break you or make you stronger. Teams have to choose their path. If you have the resilience and unity to push through, it can improve you. That’s the challenge.”

On to the next phase. On to the next goal. On to the next question: Will these brutal contests against SEC rivals help Pope’s squad in the Big Dance?

Here’s my take: How could they not? The AP Top 25 is filled with SEC teams, and the same goes for statistical models from Ken Pomeroy, Bart Torvik, Evan Miyakawa, and the NCAA NET rankings.

Teams full of athleticism? The Wildcats have faced them. Fast-paced teams? The Wildcats have faced them. Slow, methodical teams? The Wildcats have faced them. Teams with strong zone defenses? The Wildcats have faced them. Well-coached teams? Check. Poorly-coached teams? Check. No. 1-ranked teams? Check.

Better still, they’ve beaten many of those teams.

Kentucky guard Travis Perry (11) is surrounded by Alabama defenders, including Crimson Tide guard Chris Youngblood (8), during Friday’s SEC Tournament game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kentucky guard Travis Perry (11) is surrounded by Alabama defenders, including Crimson Tide guard Chris Youngblood (8), during Friday’s SEC Tournament game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Ryan C.

Kentucky would prefer to enter the NCAA Tournament at full strength, of course. That’s more probable now than it seemed Thursday night, when starting point guard Lamont Butler — known as “LaMarch” Butler — was heading to the locker room with a shoulder injury. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario was avoided. Imaging results were more positive than expected. Butler watched the Alabama game from the bench, but Pope was optimistic Friday night, saying his top defender should be ready in time for the tournament.

However, this doesn’t mean the Wildcats can relax before their NCAA opener. You don’t lose by 29 points in your final game and just accept the result. Regardless of the opponent. When I asked Koby Brea what the team needed to work on after the game, he responded with, “Everything.”

Ball handling should be a priority. The Wildcats nearly squandered a 10-point lead late in Thursday’s victory over Oklahoma due to turnovers. On Friday night, they committed 16 turnovers, leading to 29 points for Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide, with several turning into fast-break dunks.

“We were a bit stagnant the entire night, not playing in the way we normally do,” Pope said.

A healthier Butler should help. So should Oweh, who committed five turnovers on Friday. He also played much of the game with stitches in his lip after a hard elbow from Tide freshman Labaron Philon in the first half. Despite the discomfort, Oweh managed to score half of his usual 16 points per game.

“I’m not in pain,” Oweh said after the game, though his lips were visibly swollen. “Just uncomfortable.”

As they say, it’s all about matchups. SEC teams know each other inside and out, but Kentucky’s next opponent won’t. That’s a positive. Remember, these Wildcats beat teams like eventual ACC champion Duke and WCC Tournament winner Gonzaga earlier in the season. Granted, Kentucky had a healthy Jaxson Robinson at that time, which they no longer have.

But they also carry the battle scars of playing the nation’s 10th-toughest schedule, according to ESPN. That SEC schedule. And that counts for a lot. There’s your silver lining in a 29-point defeat. On to the next challenge. On to something better.