Coming into its SEC Tournament semifinal matchup against Alabama, Florida Basketball still had work to do in the eyes of some if it wanted to secure a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN's Joe Lunardi said the winner of Saturday's contest would have the inside track for Selection Sunday.
Whether it was motivation or just being better, the Gators took every punch Alabama threw in the first half before Florida just started throwing haymakers, and the end result was a blowout victory that advanced Florida to the finals of the SEC Tournament against Tennessee.
Florida Basketball: All Gas
During the broadcast, Jay Bilas said it best:
"Florida has looked every bit the part of a national championship contender."
Alabama tried to go warp speed in the first half as they have done all season long and the Crimson Tide were getting their fair share of points, with a good chunk coming on fast breaks.
But Florida was able to respond every time as their size bullied Alabama on the glass.
Florida took a 47-45 lead into halftime before, as Todd Golden said on the bench, their depth took over and turned Alabama's NASCAR offense into a Malfunction Junction parking lot. From 18:46 to go in the game through 14:41, Alabama was held to two points.
The lead ballooned to ten points, and before one blinked, it was up to 20+.
Emblematic of Florida shutting down Alabama in the second half was when 7'1" Micah Handlogten got left on an island with 6'1" Mark Sears and still shut him down.
Walter Clayton looked like a free safety at times on defense as well, springing multiple fast breaks, and once again, the Gators had six players with double-digit scoring.
As Bilas also said during the broadcast, "Florida doesn't have a weakness." The Gators have shown all season long that they can match any style of play you want to play.
There is still work to be done, and there will be some people who will angle for Tennessee to get the final one seed should the Volunteers win tomorrow, but the Gators seem as locked in as anyone right now, and anything short of cutting down the nets in San Antonio is going to require an opponent to have the game of their life.
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