Gators Blow the Doors off Alabama, 105-87

A Senior Night to Remember:

As the scoreboard clock raced toward a flatline finish at 0:00 Tuesday night, walk-on Bennett Anderson ignored the Rowdy Reptiles begging him to launch a shot that would have been the cherry on top of a most delicious way to end Florida’s 105-87 win over 16th-ranked Alabama. That he was even on the court in a game of this magnitude is the stuff of which lifetime memories are made. It was Senior Night at the O-Dome and a guy whose career stats are two points scored in the mop-up seconds of a blowout of lowly Grambling back in December got to close out the most important win of Florida’s season with the ball in his hands.

Moments like this are rarities for walk-ons who bust their butts daily in practice and whose rewards are precious seconds at the end of games long since decided before they saw the court. For Andersen and fellow senior walk-ons Alex Klatsky and Jack May, this was the perfect ending to their Florida basketball careers.

“Bennett, to be honest, thanked the team in the locker room for playing well enough for him to be able to get on the court on senior night,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the Gators scored their third win over a ranked opponent this season. This is a team that has come a long, long way since the season started back in November.

This Florida team that is 21-9, 11-6 in Southeastern Conference play is a handful of possessions away from being 27-3 overall and 15-2 in SEC play. In four of the six SEC losses, the Gators couldn’t hold leads late in the game. In three of the six, the Gators blew leads of at least 10 points.

When the Gators had the 10-point lead against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide got loose for a late barrage of 3-pointers to erase Florida’s advantage and then won the game in overtime. This time out, with an O-Dome crowd of 11,009 on hand for Senior Night and to help the Gators knock off an Alabama team that many experts say has Final Four potential, Florida came prepared to defend the 3-point line and take away Alabama’s ability to stage a big comeback.

The game went from potentially white knuckles to Florida blowout in the first seven minutes of the second half. The Gators held a 44-35 lead at the half, the kind of lead Alabama typically erases with quick 3-pointers, but this wasn’t a typical night for the Crimson Tide. Florida was the aggressor at both ends of the court, taking away the three that is Alabama’s calling card while attacking relentlessly on the offensive end. Sprinting out of the gate at the start of the second half, the Gators pushed the lead to 15 points (63-48) with 13:49 left in the game.

In recent weeks, this was the time of the game for Florida fans to start biting their fingernails. Memories of blowing a 21-point lead to LSU before winning in overtime as well as losing the 10-point lead in the second half at South Carolina last Saturday were all too vivid. This time it was different, however, because instead of going into an offensive funk, committing a rash of fouls and failing to defend the 3-point line, the Gators played as complete a game as they’ve played all season.

Florida’s aggressiveness on the offensive end got them to the foul line early and often in a second half in which they hit 31-35 free throws (40-46 for the game). A good many of the free throws were the result of Alabama trying to trade free throws for 3-pointers, only it didn’t work. Florida rarely missed a free throw and Alabama couldn’t find the ocean from the boat at the 3-point line. The Gators fouled enough to send Alabama to the line for 25 free throws, but unlike what happened last Saturday against South Carolina in Columbia, the Gators didn’t lose their poise when the whistles tooted.

The Gators’ 3-point defense kept Alabama from going on any big scoring runs. Florida meanwhile was turning every transition opportunity into fast break points. The Gators outscored Alabama 27-8 off fast breaks, especially in the second half when Florida stretched the lead to 20 points. Down 20, Alabama’s only hope was to heat it up from the 3-point line, but the team that is fourth nationally in 3-point attempts (30.7) and made 3-pointers (11.5) per game had problems getting shots from behind the line.

Florida was physical, running the shooters off the 3-point line. When Alabama did get a shot off it was usually with a hand in the face or launching against someone taller. Alabama hit 5-23 from the 3-point line and if you take away the 4-6 effort from Mark Sears, the rest of the team was a dismal 1-17.

Sears scored 33 points in the game, 29 in the second half, but the point totals are somewhat misleading. This wasn’t one of those games when he had plenty of open looks from behind the 3-point line. He had to work for everything he got, plus three of his four 3-pointers in the second half were in the final 5:41 when the game was long since decided.

“We talked about having great discipline and execution for 40 minutes and understanding who the shooters were and not letting them get off,” Golden said. “I thought Walter Clayton probably had his best defensive effort of the year in that regard. He was so physical, so tough, not letting guys get threes off. If you hold them to five made threes on the road, you're going to give yourself a chance. They probably need 10. Just a great effort that way.”

In scoring more than 100 points in an SEC game for the first time since a 2017 win at Auburn, the Gators overcame a 1-10 shooting start. Florida trailed 19-18 with 8:02 left in the first half and the score was tied at 21-21 a couple of minutes later, but the Gators went on a 23-14 run before intermission to take control that they never relinquished.

Once in the second half, Alabama kept within striking distance until a driving layup by Clayton and a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Alex Condon stretched Florida’s lead to 15. A couple of minutes later, Denzel Aberdeen stole an inbounds pass and dunked, sending the O-Dome crowd into a frenzy. That was followed by a nifty pass from Thomas Haugh to Condon, who turned it into a layup and a free throw.

The clock showed 11:25 to go in the game and Alabama was down by 20, 70-50. As long as the Gators kept playing hard, particularly on defense, Golden knew this wasn’t going to be another blown lead.

“A big part of our talk to the team down the stretch was, once we got that lead to 20, or whatever it was, they're not going to, they can't catch us unless we give them threes,” Golden said. “They just can't, they can't. We're going to be able to make enough baskets or get to the foul line enough.”

The Gators didn’t give Alabama threes and of Florida’s final 35 points, 24 came at the foul line. Alabama got physical trying to get steals, which kept the Gators parading to the line to shoot free throws. The game took on a somewhat nasty tone when Alabama coach Nate Oats was lit up for a technical foul with 4:15 to go protesting when he felt Rylan Griffin was fouled. Oats was fortunate referee Doug Shows didn’t toss him.

Five Gators finished the game in double figures, led by Will Richard, who found his shooting mojo early on and never lost it. Richard finished the game 8-12 from the field, 3-5 from the 3-point line and 4-4 on free throws. He also grabbed five rebounds and had a couple of steals.

Clayton never got into a good shooting rhythm from the field but he spent the game on the foul line where he hit 15-16, finishing the night with 22 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Freshman Alex Condon had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Since it was Senior Night, it was only fitting that Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel and UC-Riverside transfer Zyon Pullin went out in style, each scoring 19 points. Samuel, who Golden said “was a monster,” had 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and four steals. He was 9-9 from the foul line.

At game’s end, nobody felt more like a Gator than Samuel.

“I’m happy that I came to Florida,” Samuel said. “I feel embraced, and yeah like I’m just appreciative of being here, and I can’t really say much else.”

Pullin, second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, had another zero turnover directing the Florida offense. “Just the steady, calming influence out there,” is how Golden described Pullin’s effort that included two rebounds, three assists and a steal to close out the O-Dome portion of his Florida experience.

Getting a win over Alabama was a necessity since it was the last chance for the Gators to get a Quad 1 win in the regular season. Now with four, the Gators should move up a bit from No. 34 when the NCAA Net Rankings are revised today. Already the Gators have moved up six places to No. 25 in the all-important KenPom analytics and to No. 20 in the Bart Torvik analytics.

Florida began the day on the No. 6 line in Joe Lunardi’s latest brackets. With a win to close out the regular season Saturday at Vanderbilt and with a win or two in the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week, the Gators have a really good shot at a six seed and potentially a No. 5.  

With a road trip to Vanderbilt the only regular season game still on the schedule, the Gators have finished the home portion of their schedule 14-1, the best record at the O-Dome since the 2013-14 team went 17-0.

“For us to finish the year with only one loss in here, an overtime loss to Kentucky where we led for most of the game, just an incredible year for us in this building,” Golden said. “I'll say this again, our fans have been absolutely incredible. Incredible. Our trainer Duke Werner who's been here for almost 30 years said that was one of the best student sections he's seen in the O-Dome in his time and you could feel it right before tip, the energy for a Tuesday night tip. Just really proud of our team and really grateful for my staff and the way we executed tonight.”

SEC Basketball

Tuesday’s scores: FLORIDA (21-9, 11-6 SEC) 105, No. 16 Alabama (20-10, 12-5 SEC); No. 13 Auburn (23-7, 12-5 SEC) 101, Missouri (8-22, 0-17 SEC) 74; Georgia (16-12, 6-11 SEC) 69, Ole Miss (20-10, 7-10 SEC) 66

Wednesday’s games: No. 4 Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) at No. 17 South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC); Vanderbilt (8-21, 3-13 SEC) at No. 15 Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC); Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8 SEC) at Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9 SEC); LSU (16-13, 8-8 SEC) at Arkansas (14-15, 5-11 SEC)

SEC in KenPom analytics: 5. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 9. Alabama; 18. Kentucky; 26. FLORIDA; 31. Mississippi State; 43. South Carolina; 54. Texas A&M; 75. Ole Miss; 86. LSU; 93. Georgia; 115. Arkansas; 148. Missouri; 207. Vanderbilt

SEC in Bart Torvik analytics: 5. Auburn; 7. Tennessee; 12. Alabama; 20. FLORIDA; 21. Kentucky; 29. Mississippi State; 41. South Carolina; 64. Texas A&M; 66. Ole Miss; 72. LSU; 78. Georgia; 118. Arkansas; 138. Missouri; 218. Vanderbilt