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Florida basketball: Gators hit the road to take on Alabama

By Will Thomas

Jan 18, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators guard Trey Bonham (2) takes a free-throw against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators guard Trey Bonham (2) takes a free-throw against the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida basketball has been going through a gauntlet over these past two weeks. They had to travel to Kansas State, got to play Tennessee at home, and had to hit the road to Lexington to play Kentucky.

Tomorrow night, they enter the final leg of this four-headed monster on their schedule as they make the trip to Tuscaloosa to play the 3rd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

You guys don’t need me to tell you that the Gators have a tall task ahead of them tomorrow night. Bama is 10-0 in SEC play, and 20-3 overall. They’re yet to lose at home all season and have been an absolute wrecking ball in the SEC this year.

The Tide boasts a top-ten offense in the nation, scoring 83.1 points per game, which pairs with their great defense that only allows 68.7 per game.

Alabama is led by forward Brandon Miller. The 6′-9” freshman out of Antioch, Tennessee, is scoring 18.8 points per game and grabbing 8.2 rebounds per game.

There are two more guys for Bama who are scoring in double figures in Mark Sears (13.7) and Noah Clowney (10.0).

Florida is going to need the defensive effort they played with against Tennessee if they want any chance of slowing down the Tide on their home floor.

If the Gators are to pull the upset, they’ll need to play the game at their own pace. They can’t afford to let Bama run up and down the floor and run their offense the way they want to. Florida just can’t keep up with that.

Swarming defense could earn the Gators some turnovers and fastbreak opportunities. Bama is 303rd in the nation in turnovers per game with 14.3, which is almost three more than the Gators.

If Florida can win the turnover margin, they may give themselves a shot. They’ll also need another great game from Colin Castleton, and more scoring from guys like Will Richard and Alex Fudge.

If they execute well defensively and can work their way toward open shots on offense, the Gators may hang around and give themselves a chance.

Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.

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