Friday night in Nashville at the SEC Tournament belonged to the Florida Gators as they took command over the Alabama Crimson Tide and never relented coming away with a massive 102-88 win to advance to the semifinals. It was the Crimson Tide who gave the the first punch, the Gators quickly absorbed it and fired back, ending the first half on a 21-2 run that took all the wind out of Alabama’s sails. After a few buckets to start the second frame the Gators were up by 20 and from there it was all about simply maintaining the huge margin. With this being the third meeting of the season between the two teams the Gators get the edge going 2-1 with both wins being huge blowouts, and this will carry momentum into the semifinals of the SEC Tournament that is looking increasingly winnable.
Starting It Off
With this being the third meeting between the Gators and Crimson Tide it’s safe to say the two teams knew each other pretty well and it was clear where the Gators had the biggest advantage–the frontcourt. Early on it was clear that the Gators were looking to play through their bigs, something that they have looked to do in recent weeks against most of their SEC opponents. Tyrese Samuel was excellent once again with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks, using his bulk and touch to completely overwhelm whichever Alabama player was tasked with guarding him. It wasn’t just Samuel who dominated on the inside as Alex Condon put up 12 points on 5-6 shooting off the bench, coming into the game confident that he could go to work and instantly hitting jump hook after jump hook. Thomas Haugh also played a big role with 7 points and a team leading 9 rebounds to round out a frontcourt that won its matchups as a position group.
Finishing Strong
It might have been the frontcourt that started things off for the Gators but in the second half it was the guards who put a period at the end of the sentence. For much of the first half Walter Clayton and Zyon Pullin were focusing on getting the big men interior touches but in the second it was all about these two going to work on the perimeter and getting to the rim at will. Alabama’s defense has struggled all year long particularly with containing guards and Clayton and Pullin put constant pressure on the rim with their driving ability on their way to big nights. Clayton had a team high 23 points while adding 4 assists and 4 rebounds while Pullin had 19 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds amounting to a dominant night for the backcourt. These two also had an improved game from a defensive standpoint after struggling against Georgia and while they might not be all-league level defenders they showed they can be impactful when they lock in.
Mature Game
If you were to look at Florida’s performance against Alabama and describe it with one word it would be “mature.” When Alabama started the game strong and took a quick 8-0 lead, the Gators didn’t panic. They played poised, didn’t overreact, and quickly got back into the game. They stuck to their gameplan both offensively and defensively, and never wavered even when Alabama tried to make the game chaotic with their pace. Florida controlled the glass only allowing 9 offensive rebounds, and they didn’t turn the ball over much (7 turnovers total, with 3 coming in garbage time late in the second half). Perhaps most importantly–coming off a game against Georgia where they shot 23-41 from the free throw line (56%) they hit 31-36 from the charity stripe (86%). Tyrese Samuel, who shot a remarkable 9-23 from the line on Thursday, even went 4-4. Everything about this game from a Florida standpoint was mature which is what they’ll need to continue rattling off wins.
Final Thoughts
The Gators weren’t particularly sharp against Georgia but they came out with a much more focused effort against Alabama and were rewarded with a massive win. Not only will the Gators advance to the SEC Tournament’s semifinals but with Alabama ranking as a top-10 team in the NET, this will be a massive resume win for the Gators that could see them take a seed line jump come Selection Sunday. They’ll now advance to take on Texas A&M who upset Kentucky on Friday, giving the Gators a much different path to an SEC championship than they likely first anticipated.