Kentucky grabbed a lead early and then cruised home 72-58 over Alabama before a couple of ankle injuries provided concern for the Wildcats. In a matter of seconds, DeAndre Liggins and Doron Lamb suffered ankle injuries that will make the Wildcats nervous heading into tomorrow's final. Liggins was able to get up and jog to the bench under his own power but Lamb had to be helped off the court.
Kentucky built a 16 point lead at the half before pushing it out to more than 20 in the second half. Alabama was unable to mount any sort of resistance against the Wildcats as they clamped down defensively. Lamb led the Wildcats with 15 points while Josh Harrelson added 14 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndre Liggins also scored 14 points for Kentucky who placed five different players in double figures.
Alabama was led by Tony Mitchell's 16 points. JaMychal Green added 12 in the loss. The Crimson Tide must now wait nervously for tomorrow's NCAA Selection Show where they will learn whether or not they did enough in the conference tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky moves on to face the winner of this afternoon's Florida-Vanderbilt match-up in the SEC Title game tomorrow.
First Round: Thursday, March 10 East No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs def. West No. 5 Auburn Tigers, 69-51 West No. 3 Mississippi Rebels def. East No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks, 66-55 East No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers def. West No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks, 74-68 East No. 3 Vanderbilt Commodores vs. West No. 6 LSU Tigers, 10:00 p.m., SEC Network Quarterfinals: Friday, March 11 West No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide def. Georgia, 65-59 East No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats def. Mississippi, 75-66 East No. 1 Florida Gators def. Tennessee, 85-74 Vanderbilt def. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 87-81 Semifinals: Saturday, March 12 Alabama vs. Kentucky def. Alabama, 72-58 Floriday vs. Vanderbilt, 3:30 p.m., ABC Championship game: Sunday, March 13 Semifinals winners, 1:00 p.m., ABC For more on the 2011 SEC Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream and join SB Nation Atlanta. Browse our 300 team blogs for a community devoted to your school, and visit our NCAA basketball hub for more on other conference tournaments.