It was a spirited tilt in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday with the Alabama Crimson Tide honoring their graduating players on Senior Night but ultimately it was the road Florida Gators that came out on top, spoiling the party with a huge 99-94 win that puts them right in the mix for a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. With two of the highest scoring teams in college basketball meeting in a key late season game you had a feeling this one could be explosive and that was exactly the case with a high scoring affair that saw the Gators be a bit more efficient than the Tide which was ultimately the difference. With the win the Gators improved to 26-4 on the season and 13-4 in the SEC, importantly taking the second spot in the league over Alabama who now drops to 12-5 in the conference and has no means of catching Florida now that the Gators have the tiebreaker. This puts the Gators in a key position to have a double-bye, allowing them the rest they will need to put on their best showing in the SEC Tournament and ultimately the NCAA Tournament.
The Alex Condon Game
After missing three games to injury and getting eased back into the rotation with two games off the bench, sophomore Alex Condon was back in the starting lineup where he did not disappoint. Catching lobs from Walter Clayton, pounding the offensive glass, and knocking down open shots, it was a career night for Condon who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds leading the way for the Gators in one of their biggest games in weeks. Alabama is a team that has length in the frontcourt but not a lot of bulk and Condon took full advantage of that with his physicality and toughness around the rim that turned into a number of put backs and layups around the rim. The plays that will be remembered will be the three separate alley-oops he finished powerfully at the rim–all which were thrown to him from Walter Clayton. There were a ton of NBA scouts in the building to see two of the best teams in the country, and they’ll come away extremely impressed with Condon.
Trading Blows
While Alex Condon was ultimately Wednesday’s hero, going into the matchup the thought was that it would be a heavyweight tilt between two of the best guards in the country in Florida’s Walter Clayton and Alabama’s Mark Sears. While Condon still was the best player of the night, these two guards didn’t disappoint with Sears putting up 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Clayton answered with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. This was a good test for Florida’s defense as they tried to contain an elite scoring guard and while they weren’t always successful there were some nice moments of forcing the ball out of his hands and there will certainly be moments on film to improve on. On the other end, Walter Clayton’s 8 assists were something that everyone will be extremely happy to see as he embraces the role of distributor at times alongside his electric scoring ability.
Winning In The Trenches
Looking at how the rosters matched up you might have thought Mark Sears and Walter Clayton would play each other to a draw and that it would be everyone else on the floor that would decide the game and that’s essentially what happened–with Florida’s frontcourt overpowering the smaller Alabama frontline and winning on the ugly areas of the court. It seemed like every 50/50 offensive rebound ended in the hands of a Gator, and if there was a loose ball there was a player in orange and blue first to the ground to secure it. Ultimately the Gators had 16 offensive rebounds and 6 steals, numbers that contributed to the Gators having more possessions than the Crimson Tide which was one of the huge factors in this game. There are times that Florida will want to play a controlled, finesse style of play–and there are times they need their physicality and toughness to win out. This was a night they needed size and toughness, and those players responsible for that identity were tremendous.
Final Thoughts
Florida already had one of, if not the biggest win in college basketball this season on the road at Auburn and they added another gigantic win with this victory over Alabama who entered Wednesday’s game ranked 6th in the NET. Wins like these don’t just help the Gators in the SEC standings or improve their NCAA Tournament resume as they hunt for a 1-seed–they build belief that they can beat anyone in the country, and that’s the confidence you need going into March. Florida has shown they can win games in a number of ways this season and this was just another showcase of that with the toughness, length, and physicality overwhelming the Crimson Tide.