Wednesday’s game between the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide saw two of the hottest teams in the SEC facing off and while the Gators (18-8, 8-5 SEC) fought hard in a tough road environment their efforts ultimately came up short with the home Crimson Tide (19-7, 11-2 SEC) winning 98-93 in an overtime thriller. It was the Gators who controlled much of this game holding on to a lead for the bulk of action for a second half surge by the Crimson Tide brought them back into the game and when it seems like Florida started to get fatigued Alabama continued to keep their foot on the gas and that was the difference. Considering what a spectacular game this was you can expect some fireworks again soon as the Crimson Tide will go on the road to face the Gators later in the season and if both teams continue to play as they currently are–an SEC Tournament matchup also seems like a distinct possibility.
Crunch Time
Let’s break down the biggest minutes of the game–the final moments of regulation and overtime. With 1:43 remaining in the second half Tyrese Samuel had a smooth hook shot to make it 83-80 for the Gators. Rylan Griffen sprinted out in transition and missed an early look from three, but North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson (who had 22 points) was on the scene to grab the rebound, face up, and put on a smooth move at the rim to finish with a foul on Tyrese Samuel to make it a three-point play which he converted (83-83). Zyon Pullin, who was quarterbacking much of Florida’s late game offense, once again made a huge play to calmly come off a screen, get a paint touch, and finish to make it 85-83. Alabama’s leader Mark Sears then took the ball up the court and went to attack with Will Richard making an aggressive steal attempt from behind. While it looked like it could have been clean, the ref called a foul and with the Crimson Tide in bonus Sears went to the line and hit both to tie things at 85-85 with under a minute remaining. The Gators chose not to call a timeout and got a pretty good look from Walter Clayton which was missed, but Micah Handlogten got the offensive board and Zyon Pullin got a second opportunity which also couldn’t find the net and Alabama had the ball with the game tied at 85 with 16 seconds remaining. Mark Sears got the ball and aggressively attacked downhill, getting a step on his defender, it looked like he was going to get a game winning layup when Micah Handlogten rotated over and swatted the ball away, his second huge block in crunch time of the second half, and the game went to overtime.
In the extra frame the Gators looked fatigued and didn’t score for the first half of the frame with Alabama jumping ahead to a 92-85 lead. The Gators didn’t quit, however, and Walter Clayton went to work scoring the Gators next 6 points bringing the game to 94-91 followed by Alex Condon hitting a short jumper to make it 94-93 with 37 seconds remaining. With that time on the clock it looked like the Gators needed to get a stop and would get the ball back, and that all started with slowing down Mark Sears. The Gators forced the ball out of his hands with a double team and it ended in the hands of forward Rylan Griffen who loaded up, rose, fired–and missed. Unfortunately for the Gators, Will Richard turned up the floor looking for a transition opportunity leaving his check, Aaron Estrada, completely left without a box out. Estrada got the uncontested rebound before softly laying it in giving Alabama a 3-point lead with 9 seconds remaining. Florida rushed the ball up the court and got a Walter Clayton heave which came up empty, and the Gators fell short.
Blowing Leads
With 8:41 remaining in the second half it looked like the Gators had control of the game up 72-62. That means that Florida blew a double-digit lead in the second half which unfortunately is nothing new and something that has plagued them throughout the season. While effort and focus doesn’t seem to be an issue with this group, execution in big moments has been a problem as we saw with a couple of lapses during the lead melting as well as in the final moments of regulation and overtime. Blowing solid leads in the second half of games can haunt basketball teams as it stays in their memory when leads are built in future games, and you have to wonder if this is starting to be a bad trend they need to fix. It is worth noting that the Gators have already won three overtime games this season over Michigan, Kentucky, and Georgia–so they should remain confident if games do go to an extra frame moving forward.
Elite Guards On Display
Florida taking on Alabama meant a battle of two of the best backcourts in the country and they did not disappoint. Walter Clayton had 27 rebounds, 5 assists, and 8 rebounds while Zyon Pullin had 17 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds, leading the Gators for much of this game. Mark Sears, who is currently an All-American and SEC Player Of The Year candidate finished with 17 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds, many of which came late in the game as the Gators actually did a tremendous job of slowing him down early. Aaron Estrada contributed 20 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds–taking much of the offensive load when the ball was forced out of Sears’ hands, and of course he had a huge play with the offensive rebound and layup in overtime. Elite guards are often what wins in March, and both teams should be very happy with who they have in the backcourt.
Final Thoughts
Alabama is a team whose resume isn’t stellar, but they are loved by the metrics that all suggest they are a top-10 team in college basketball. Florida played a great game to be competitive on the road in a tough environment and they deserve credit for slowing down Mark Sears and forcing Alabama’s second options to beat them. However, the Gators once again blew a lead in the second half and their execution down the stretch and in overtime left a lot to be desired which are the same issues that hurt them early in the season while they were struggling to beat good teams and build a resume. Luckily for the Gators a close loss on the road won’t hurt them in the metrics, and in fact playing the game so close will likely still help them despite the loss. Certainly they would have loved the win for the resume, but this is not a detrimental loss by any stretch.