Gators Blowout Bama in SEC Tournament

Photo credit UAA

Todd Golden was being diplomatic after Florida’s 102-88 blowout win over No. 19 and third-seeded Alabama Friday night in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville. What came out of his mouth Friday night and what he knows in his heart of hearts are two different things.

“Alabama is a great team but we beat them pretty comfortably tonight” is how Golden described the flogging the Gators gave Alabama that earned a Saturday afternoon semifinal matchup with Texas A&M.

That is what Golden said. It was coach-speak. Discretion, they say, is the better part of valor so no sense alienating Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Golden knows if the Gators played Alabama 10 times on neutral courts or basically anywhere not named Coleman Coliseum that Florida would wear Alabama out, probably winning 80 percent of the time.

The Gators are that much better than Alabama. Maybe they weren’t when they played the first time at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, but this Florida team is just now starting to figure things out and apply them on the court with devastating efficiency. Alabama, on the other hand, plays like a team whose party pooped weeks ago.

The Gators should be 3-0 against Alabama. Florida lost a white knuckles 98-93 overtime game to Alabama in Tuscaloosa back on February 13, a game they had no business whatsoever losing. A couple weeks ago there was a rematch in Gainesville, won by the Gators 105-87.

Then there was last night in Nashville, a game to decide if what happened in Gainesville was a fluke. It was not. Play Alabama and Florida 10 times away from the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum and Florida wins every single time as long as the Gators aren’t complacent and feeling full of themselves. Play 10 times in Tuscaloosa and Florida wins half the time but away from Coleman and its friendly rims the Gators blow Alabama’s doors off just like they did in Gainesville, just like they did in Nashville Friday night.  

Alabama’s offensive philosophy is the basketball equivalent of the old Earl Weaver adage that baseball games are won by good pitching and 3-run homers. In Nate Oats basketball, games are won by making 3-point shots and layups. Run the Tide off the 3-point line, forcing them to take midrange shots instead and Alabama is in trouble.

For nearly 15 minutes Friday night, Alabama stuck with the Gators. Alabama led 31-27 when Florida decided enough of this nonsense and went scorched earth on the defensive end of the court the rest of the first half. With threes taken away by Florida’s aggressive defensive posture, Alabama wilted under the pressure.

Florida went on a 17-0 run, finishing the half by outscoring Alabama 21-2 for a 48-33 lead. Once into the second half, as long as the Gators didn’t yield to the temptation of turning the game into a 3-point shooting contest, this was Florida’s game to lose.

“A combination of these guys executing our defensive game plan and limiting their three-point attempts and makes, then just offensively the way we played for each other, sharing the ball, getting downhill” is how Golden described how the Gators put Alabama away. “I think we went on a 17-0 run to end the first half, something along those lines.”

The defensive intensity in those final minutes of the first half had the effect of taking Alabama out of the game both physically and psychologically. The Gators built the lead to as many as 24 points with 10:35 left in the game and then spent the final minutes knocking down free throws. Unlike Thursday night when the Gators were abysmal, hitting just 23-41 from the line, Friday the Gators made 31-36.

As the game wore down, Alabama switched to a trade free throws for opportunities to launch threes mode. Had the Gators shot from the foul line the way they did Thursday night, the strategy may have had a chance to work but the only thing it accomplished was to keep Florida comfortably ahead.

The night before against Georgia, the Gators missed enough free throws that it allowed the Bulldogs to keep it close. When the Gators didn’t miss Friday, Alabama’s philosophy proved futile.

“I feel like last night [against Georgia] we were getting back to it, but we weren't all the way there,” Golden said. “A little shaky first half, better in the second half. Once we started asserting our will on the glass in the second half, that felt like the team we'd had for the first 30 games of the regular season. 

“Tonight, after the first two minutes, I felt like we were the team who we've been for the last 30 games. Really the last month and a half of conference play where we really stepped it up. Just a physical team that plays hard, with no fear of failure. I think our guys did a really good job of that tonight. Even When we got the big lead in the second half, we never relaxed. We kept pushing it, kept staying aggressive, kept getting to the foul line, never really allowed them to make it a game."

In two games at the SEC Tournament, the Gators have shown they can adapt on the fly. Florida fell behind by nine points against Georgia and 8-0 right out of the gate against Alabama. In both games, the Gators had to show resilience and flexibility to adapt to their circumstances.

In the final 5:40 of the first half, the Gators got the job done on the defensive end with freshman bigs Alex Condon and Tommy Haugh on the court. The Gators didn’t miss a beat.

“I think one of the biggest strengths of our team is the fact that we have a great starting front court with Tyrese [Samuel] and Micah [Handlogten]. And then when we bring in Tommy and Condo, there's really no drop-off. We're able to continue our stuff. They put great pressure on both backboards, especially on the offensive glass. They play so hard, it's infectious. I think they raise the bar for the older guys at times in terms of setting the tone with how hard they play. They have been doing this for us all year. It's a big reason why we've been so successful."

Game notes: Clayton led the Gators in scoring once again, this time with 23 points. Clayton hit all 11 of his free throws. Pullin had 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Pullin was 10-11 from the foul line. Samuel scored 18 points to go with four rebounds, an assist, two blocked shots and a steal. Also in double figures were Condon with 12 and Will Richard with 10.

Florida shot 50.8 percent from the field, but only 7-20 from the 3-point line. Alabama made only 6-25 on its 3-point attempts and 16-23 from the foul line.

Joe Lundardi of ESPN moved the Gators up to the six line in his latest brackets with UF facing the winner or Seton Hall and New Mexico’s play-in game in Memphis. Lunardi has eight SEC teams in the tournament: 2. Tennessee (Midwest); 3. Kentucky (East); 4. Auburn (East); 4. Alabama (West); 5. South Carolina (Midwest); 6. Florida (South); 9. Mississippi State (East) and 10. Texas A&M (East).

SEC Tournament

Friday’s quarter-finals

Game 7: Mississippi State (21-12) 73, No. 5 Tennessee (24-8) 56

Game 8: No. 12 Auburn (25-7) 86, No. 15 South Carolina (25-7) 55

Game 9: Texas A&M (20-13) 97, No. 9 Kentucky (23-9) 87

Game 10: FLORIDA (23-10) 102, No. 19 Alabama (21-11) 88

Today’s semifinals

Game 11: Mississippi State (21-12) vs. No. 12 Auburn (25-7), 1 p.m.

Game 12: FLORIDA (23-10) vs. Texas A&M (20-13), 3:30 p.m.

SEC in NCAA Net Rankings: 5. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 9. Alabama; 19. Kentucky; 28. FLORIDA; 32. Mississippi State; 42. Texas A&M; 52. South Carolina; 93. Ole Miss; 95. LSU; 115. Arkansas; 159. Missouri; 202. Vanderbilt

SEC in KenPom analytics: 4. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 13. Alabama; 19. Kentucky; 28. FLORIDA; 30. Mississippi State; 42. Texas A&M; 49. South Carolina; 86. Ole Miss; 89. Georgia; 91. LSU; 106. Arkansas; 150. Missouri; 186. Vanderbilt