This season, however, Florida is at the back of the pack in the SEC with a long way to go if it wants to make another appearance at March Madness. The Gators are 10-9, 3-3 in the SEC, ranked 84th in RPI. Tuesday Alabama will have its best chance in years to break its seven-game losing streak to the team for which Alabama coach Anthony Grant used to be an assistant coach, when the Gators come to Coleman Coliseum.
“Well, we are looking forward to our game tomorrow,” Grant said Monday. “Obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for Florida, their program and what they’ve accomplished. The last few games for them haven’t had the outcomes that they wanted, but they’ve been right there. Certainly you look at the way Coach Donovan’s team has been playing, they attack you offensively. They’re always really solid defensively, so you’ve got to be ready to play our best.”
Alabama has struggled to beat Florida in the past, but this year, it’s a game the Crimson Tide needs to win in order to stay on track to make the NCAA Tournament.
“Every game, we want to go out and try to win,” senior captain Levi Randolph said. “We take it one game at a time. Our next game is Florida, so we’re getting prepares for them. Just excited to get back out on the court. I’m just blessed to be able to play here, and we’re just going to go out and do the things coach asked us to do.”
Tuesday night’s game marks the third game in six days for Alabama after a loss in Arkansas last Thursday and an emotional win over Auburn Saturday night.
“The game of basketball is a physical game, so you’re always going to have little nicks and bruises,” Randolph said. “We just have to make sure that we rehab and do whatever we need to do to get ready for the next game. I think everybody’s feeling good now. I think we’re excited to be able to play and get back out on the court.”
Alabama has had trouble building momentum in the SEC, following two straight wins over Texas A&M and Tennessee to start the conference slate with three straight losses to South Carolina, Kentucky and Arkansas. The Crimson Tide got back on track with a last second win over rival Auburn on Saturday, but Grant and Randolph said the team can’t afford to dwell on its win while preparing for Florida.
“We’re excited to get back out and play Florida,” Randolph said. “We just have to bottle our energy and try to use the whole game. Basketball is a game of runs. You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low, you just have to keep playing.”
