Holloway Shoots Lights Out in Tide's Win Over Kentucky

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama men's basketball team wrapped up its nonconference slate in 2025 with a victory over the Yale Bulldogs, rounding out the start of the 2025-26 men's basketball season with a 10-3 overall record. The Crimson Tide's SEC slate started hot, with Alabama welcoming in the Kentucky Wildcats to open the 2026 portion of the schedule.

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Alabama was already on a hot streak against the Wildcats, winning three straight over Wildcats' head coach Mark Pope's Alma Mater last season. The Tide was looking to do something never done before in the history of Alabama and Kentucky: a fourth-straight win. A familiar face stood in between Alabama and its victory, with former Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate starting for Kentucky after leaving the program in the transfer portal last summer.

Defensive effort was a sticking point from Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats, and it would be crucial in this matchup, with Alabama facing Dioubate. The Tide needed to outplay the Wildcats defensively, and Dioubate wouldn't go down without a fight against his former team. Thankfully for the Crimson Tide, Amari Allen took Oats' comments to heart, with the freshman from Wisconsin playing his heart out early, scoring five points and collecting five rebounds in the first half. Allen briefly left the game in the first half due to what appeared to be a foot or ankle injury, but he walked off under his own power and returned to the lineup just before halftime. The Tide in the first half shot 45.5% from three-point range and 51.5% from the floor, and Aden Holloway and Houston Mallette both had double-digit points early in the contest.

The second half got a little bit more dicey, with Kentucky cutting the Crimson Tide's lead to single digits with just under six minutes left in the contest. The Tide took its foot off the gas a bit in the second half, despite strong play from Noah Williamson and Labaron Philon, who had 11 points in the second half. The Tide cooled a bit from three as well. The Wildcats were hot in the second half, but a beautiful arcing three from Aden Holloway stuck the dagger into Kentucky's comeback hopes.

Alabama Statistical Leaders

Points: Aden Holloway - 26 points
Rebounds: Amari Allen - 9 rebounds
Assists: Aden Holloway: 5 assists

Alabama Players With Double-Digit Points

Aden Holloway: 26 points
Labaron Philon: 17 points
Houston Mallette: 14 points
Amari Allen: 11 points
Noah Williamson: 10 points

Holloway led the Crimson Tide with 26 points as Alabama starts SEC play 1-0 after an 89-74 victory over Kentucky. The Tide improves to 11-3 on the season with Saturday's win.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.