The Gators are now a win away from a tournament title once again / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind a second-half explosion, the Florida Gators took down the Alabama Crimson Tide 104-82 Saturday afternoon to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship.
While Alabama was looking for revenge, it was anything but that. Despite keeping pace in the first half, they couldn’t match the Gators’ effort in the second and it led to a blowout win for the tournament’s two-seed.
It was a great team win for Florida. Six players scored in double figures and to no surprise, Walter Clayton Jr. led all Gators in scoring with 22 points. He also had six assists and three steals. Also, this is the first time they’ve had six players score in double-digits in a game since 2021.
With this offensive onslaught from the Gators, they set their program SEC Tournament record for points scored with 104 points. Florida will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a rubber match for the SEC Tournament Championship.
Both teams started hot on offense Saturday afternoon. The Tide came out of the gates making four of their seven shots while the Gators were 5-for-10 themselves. However, despite making more shots, the Gators trailed their opponents 12-11 heading into the first media timeout.
Alabama’s ability to generate extra possessions through the offensive glass was noticeable in the early going as well and it led to a 25-22 advantage over the Gators with 11:35 left in the first half.
For both sides, the scoring rarely stopped in this first half. Going into the final media timeout of the half, the Gators were 16-for-30 from the field and 5-for-12 from 3. As for Alabama, they were 16-for-30 from the field as well and 5-for-14 from 3. However, the free throws favored the latter and provided them a 42-41 lead with 3:40 left in the half.
But the Gators surged over the final four minutes and it led to them taking a 47-45 lead going into halftime.
Pacing Florida in the scoring department in the first 20 minutes for the Gators was Clayton Jr. He scored 12 first-half points. In addition to Florida’s star, Thomas Haugh had eight and Alijah Martin had seven points in the half.
One trend that Gators head coach Todd Golden likely wasn’t happy with from the first half is turnovers. His team had six turnovers in the first half. However, they only gave up four points off of them.
Florida’s start to the second half on defense was much better than the first. It made life difficult for Alabama, blocking shots and contesting almost every attempt. This defensive turnaround led to an 11-0 run that eventually was stretched to 15-5 and put the Gators up 64-50.
From here, the Gators slowly began taking control and separating themselves. They responded to every punch thrown by Alabama with one of their own, which helped supply a 16-point lead with 11:34 left in the game.
Then, through the use of the free throw line, tough baskets in the paint and some threes, they extended their lead all the way to 21 points, leading Alabama 80-59 with only 9:24 left.
It stayed this way over the final nine minutes, answering anything that came their way. And by the final whistle, Florida came out with a 104-82 victory to advance to the tournament finals.
Florida will share the hardwood with Tennessee on Sunday for the SEC Tournament Championship. This game will tip at 1 p.m. EDT and will be televised on ESPN.
