No 3 seed Alabama men’s basketball lost 104-82 to No. 2 seed Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday, ending the team’s SEC title hopes.
“We said going into this tournament, we want to be the hardest playing, toughest team on the floor. We were not today,” head coach Nate Oats said.
Things looked good out of the gate for the Crimson Tide as forward Grant Nelson got off to a solid start, scoring 5 of his team’s first 12 points and giving it a 12-6 lead in the first three minutes.
Pace became a huge factor, as both teams scored a combined 62 points in the first 10 minutes of the contest, straining the necks of all in attendance. Alabama held a 33-29 lead halfway through the first period.
The rest of the half featured the lead constantly changing hands, with momentum slightly favoring the Gators as they took a 47-45 lead into the break.
A sign of concern for Alabama was the four 3-pointers that Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. converted on, while Alabama guard Mark Sears went 0-4 from deep in the frame.
Also concerning was an apparent leg injury to Nelson that saw him sidelined for the final five minutes of the first half. Nelson did not play during the second half.
The train went off the rails for Alabama to open the second half, as it surrendered a 17-2 run to fall behind 64-50 in the first six minutes. Three turnovers and 2/10 shooting, paired with allowing open looks and drives to the basket to open the period, resulted in the Crimson Tide finding itself in a hole.
The beatdown continued as Florida put together a 7-0 run, extending the lead past 20 and taking a 80-59 advantage with 9:27 left.
Shots were made here and there from Alabama, with players trying to give the team some life. But the margin was too wide to overcome, and the Crimson Tide lost by 22 points.
The first thing to point at after collapse is the Crimson Tide’s poor shooting in the second half. It shot 11/32, but most of its buckets came after the deficit went above 20 points.
On the flip side, the Gators shot the lights out of Bridgestone Arena in the second period, hitting 6/12 from deep and converting 19/34 field goals in the period.
“We didn’t do a good enough job on defense,” he said.
Though Nelson didn’t play in the second half, there does not seem to be concern that his injury is very significant.
“Hopefully we get him back for the first round of the NCAA Tournament,” Oats said.
The remainder of Alabama’s postseason path will be determined tomorrow evening during the NCAA Tournament selection show. It is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CT and will be aired on CBS.
“We are going to have to regroup and see how bad we want to try to make a run again in the NCAA Tournament this year,” Oats said.
