Florida (21-9, 11-6 SEC) defeated No.16 Alabama 105-87 on Tuesday night in Gainesville. The Gators finished the season with a 14-1 home record, the team’s best since going 17-0 in 2013-14. This marks the 11th time in 44 seasons playing at the O’Dome that UF has finished with one or fewer losses (four undefeated seasons, seventh one-loss seasons).
With 11,009 fans in attendance, the Gators sold out their 6th game of the season against No.16 Alabama, matching the programs most sellouts since the 2017-18 season.
It was evident from well before the contest that the energy inside the O’Connell Center was different, especially for a Tuesday night tip. Florida’s student section, the Rowdy Reptiles, were letting the Alabama players have it during pregame warmups. That energy continued throughout the entirety of the game as Florida dominated for 40 minutes.
“I want to start off by thanking the student section,” junior guard Will Richard said postgame. “It was special in there today. Not even just the students, but everybody in that was there. So, just want to start off by thanking them for coming and showing that amount of support.”
Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats acknowledged the incredible atmosphere, pointing out that the Gators fed off the energy inside Exactech Arena while his Crimson Tide seemed to be flustered by the crowd.
“The crowd got behind them and it certainly looked like it helped them,” Oats said postgame. “It shouldn’t really affect your focus and your effort, but it certainly looked like it did, in the wrong way for us.”
Florida’s student section once again formed a line two hours before the game that wrapped around the O’Dome.
“I’ll say this again, our fans have been absolutely incredible. Incredible,” Todd Golden said postgame. “Our trainer Duke Werner has been here almost 30 years and said that was one of the best student sections he’s seen in the O’Dome in his time here. You could feel it right before tip, the building had great energy for a Tuesday night tip.”
Florida posted a 14-1 record at home this year, the best home record in 10 years for the Gators’ basketball program.
“Best crowd in the country, senior forward Tyrese Samuel said postgame. “Every game, homecourt advantage. We went 14-1 at home. That says a lot, so thank you to everyone that always comes out to the games.”
Florida’s massive resume building victory came on senior night, which recognized support staff, walk ons, and two starters in Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin.
“Senior Night, obviously Tyrese [Samuel] and ZP [Zyon Pullin] have been blessings for us all year. But Senior Night can be funky sometimes. You get a lot of energy, a lot of exterior situations happening, and sometimes guys don’t have great games on Senior Night,” Golden said postgame. “Fortunately for the Gators, that was not the case tonight. I thought Tyrese was a monster. We had a lot of fun with the fact that he was 9-for-9 from the foul line in the locker room – some big, big free throws to keep that lead where it needed to be. Then ZP, I was actually happy we were able to get him some rest throughout the game. Thirty-three minutes is on the lower side of what he’s been playing for us.”
Perhaps the coolest moment of the entire night came with 19 seconds left when Golden pulled Samuel and Pullin off the court to replace them with his senior walk ons. The crowd erupted for their beloved Gators.
“Awesome. It was really special. to be honest,” Golden said on emptying the bench. “I think especially for Jack [May], Alex [Klatsky] and Bennett [Andersen]. 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. So pretty, pretty sweet moment and that says a lot about what his team’s about.”
Florida will wrap up the 2023-24 regular season at Vanderbilt on Saturday March 9th at 4:30 PM EST.