Heading into Wednesday night’s matchup in Tuscaloosa, the pathway for Florida Basketball was simple. A win would keep the Gators in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament while also securing a double bye in the SEC Tournament. A loss, however, would all but eliminate their top-seed hopes and force them to win Saturday just to clinch the double bye.
Florida chose the former, delivering a convincing road victory over Alabama that further solidified its tournament résumé.
Florida Basketball: Come On And Slam
The Gators led 41-40 at halftime, though it felt like the margin could have been much larger. Missed alley-oops and easy looks in the paint left points on the board, keeping Alabama within striking distance.
But in the second half, Florida took control. Florida fell behind by five points early in the half but eventually the Gators dominated inside, turning second-chance opportunities into highlight-reel dunks. The game started to resemble NBA Jam—Florida kept winning 50-50 balls, kept outmuscling Alabama for rebounds, and kept beating the Tide down the court. The end result was often a posterizing dunk.
The lead ballooned to 14 with six minutes left to play after a fastbreak, and while some late free throws were needed to ice the game, the outcome was never truly in doubt after the eight-minute mark.
Alex Condon had a monster night, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds. Walter Clayton added 22 points, while Rueben Chinyelu contributed nine points and 11 rebounds. and Thomas Haugh also chipped in with 12 points while Alijah Martin, who had to fight off injuries throughout the night, had ten points.
With Tennessee’s loss to Ole Miss, Florida now appears to have the inside track for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators will face the Rebels on Saturday to close the regular season before turning their attention to the SEC Tournament.