Andrew Olson| 2 days ago
Alabama needed extra time to maintain its SEC lead. No. 13 UA was taken to overtime by upset-minded No. 24 Florida on Wednesday night. The Tide never trailed in the extra period, notching a 98-93 win to improve to 11-2 in the SEC.
Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-24 field-goal shooting, including 4-of-16 3-pointers and 5 free throws. Nelson Grant was Alabama’s top scorer with 22 points (5-of-15 FG, 1-of-6 3-pointers, 6-of-8 FTs).
Here are 3 quick takeaways from the SEC thriller in Tuscaloosa:
Leading when it matters
Alabama and Florida had a track meet on the hardwood going much of the night at Coleman Coliseum. Both teams tend to light up the scoreboard, and Wednesday was no exception.
The Gators were giving the Crimson Tide all they could handle and more, but Nate Oats’ squad could feel that it was just one big rally away from seizing the momentum. The final box score has Florida leading for over 29 minutes, Alabama leading for nearly 10 minutes and the game tied 8 times.
Alabama had to overcome a 10-point second-half deficit (72-62) to get the game to overtime. In the extra period, the Tide flipped a switch and took over. UA scored the first 7 points in OT and never trailed, a strong closeout in a hard-fought game.
Beating Florida on the boards
UF entered the game as the SEC’s top team on the glass, with 44.2 rebounds per game. Alabama boosted its average of 39.4 rebounds per game, fourth in the conference, by out-rebounding the Gators 54-44.
Grant Nelson, Aaron Estrada and Nick Pringle each grabbed 8 rebounds for the Tide.
Finding a way
Alabama could not buy a 3-pointer in the first half. The Tide went just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. Those numbers would have many teams too deep in the hole, but Alabama trailed Florida by just 4 points (41-37).
As pointed out by the ESPN broadcast, Florida coach Todd Golden was not going to let the Tide shoot 18 more 3-pointers in the second half. It took a while, but Alabama did get some key triples in its second-half comeback. When all was said and done, Bama finished 8-of-32, only one 3-pointer behind Florida’s 9-of-30.
When the 3-ball wasn’t working, the Tide attacked the paint. Alabama finished with a 56-40 scoring advantage in the paint.
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Andrew Olson
Andrew is a News Manager for XLMedia's Saturday Football brands. Follow on Twitter.
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The Standard2 days ago
Huge, stressful W. Shot terrible from 3 but still fought back. Surprised we dominated the paint and rebounding. Need Weightsell back for UK. Missed his shooting tonight.
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RonMexico11 day ago
Bama beat UF in OT at home. Nothing “huge” about it, she/her.
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fuzzyvol012 days ago
That was a big win. Congrats
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RonMexico11 day ago
It was an OT win at home.
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GatorFanAlways2 days ago
Good effort by the Gators in an away game with a very good team.
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BamaBone2 days ago
I’m liking the resilience of the guys this year. Keeping their chins up after a tough start to the game (and year) seems to be a positive sign as Oats develops a team after tremendous player and staff turnover.
If only Bediako had stayed…RTR!!!
And congrats to UF for doing such an outstanding job prepping for Bama. Impressive coaching and solid players.Log in to Reply
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gatorfan81152 days ago
What a game! Big props to bama as it seems anytime Florida was going to pull away bama sank a needed 3 to not allow it .
Looking forward to the re match in Gainesville march 5!
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LeghumperU1 day ago
“Florida was going to pull away bama sank a needed 3 to not allow it…”
Hmmm, I thought Mediocre Mike left…It was an entertaining game, reminded me of the OT UGa-UF game earlier this year…
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gatorfan81151 day ago
Humper my friend … you can def tell
Mid card Mike is not in g ville as the gators have shown dramatic improvement from the start of this season . That 3 and 1 overtime record is nothing to be ashamed of nor is it a shame to lose to the most likely regular season sec champs on the road in overtime . As Florida sets its sights on a return to march madness , mediocre Mike is most likely making a tee time as he will be knocked out of the sec Tourney in the first round and finish just above 500. This will be the norm for uga basketball but it is a match made in heaven as being average is the goal
For uga basketball per history ( see 1983 as the first and only final 4 appearance ). Again thanks to uga and that millions dollars for taking mid card Mike to Athens. Congrats on finally getting in the win column also .. I know those are coming less and less :)Log in to Reply
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LeghumperU11 hours ago
Do the math and let me know what team has improved more in the SEC this year over last year:
2023 – Team 1 went 9-9 in the SEC. 2024 – Team 1 is currently 8-5 in the SEC.
2023 – Team 2 went 6-12 in the SEC. 2024 – Team 2 is currently 5-8.You guys cry so much about the football team that Napier took over at UF being so talentless and dysfunctional versus the one Kirby took over…but then ignore that fact when it doesn’t suit you. Interesting concept my friend…
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LeghumperU11 hours ago
ignore facts like that when it doesn’t suit you^
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JTF10 hours ago
Let them have it leg. It means so little in the overall scope of college sports.
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LeghumperU10 hours ago
yeah, you’re right…poor lizards, they need a victory in something. I concede.
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fuzzyvol011 day ago
The rematch will be must see TV for sure.
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