No. 23 Florida Suffers Worst Loss to Alabama Since 1989

The Florida Gators were outscored 41-17 in the second half en route to a 68-50 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The 18-point defeat marked Florida’s biggest loss to Alabama since March 4, 1989. UF’s 50 points was also their lowest scoring total of the season. The Gators were outrebounded, 26-14, in the second half and got killed in the interior all night. The Crimson Tide outscored the Gators in the paint, 46-26, on Saturday evening.

Donta Hall was a perfect 7-7 from the field, good for 14 points against the Gators. The Crimson Tide finished the game with 11 layups and 7 dunks. ‘Bama shot 58.1% from the field in the final frame and scored all 14 of their 14 second-chance points in the second half. After forcing 14 turnovers in the first twenty minutes, the Gators only forced 5 giveaways in the final twenty minutes.

Seeding at the SEC Tournament feels like it's going to be absolutely meaningless. Alabama wins at Florida. Gators' second home loss in last two weeks.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 3, 2018

2019 4-Star SF C.J. Walker (Orlando) and 2020 SF Scottie Barnes (Ft. Lauderdale) are in attendance at today's Florida-Alabama game.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) February 3, 2018

KeVaughn Allen has officially passed Taurean Green for 37th on Florida's all-time scoring list. He's 44 away from passing Dorian Finney-Smith.

— Jake Winderman (@jakewinderman) February 3, 2018

• 1. Offense Disappeared Once Again in the Second Half: The Gators have now been outscored 76-45 in the second half in their last two games vs. Alabama and Georgia. Florida’s halfcourt offense in the final frame of the last two games has consisted of a lot of forced three-pointers early in the shot clock and minimal movement off of the ball. UF shot 22.6% from the field and 15.4% from long-range in the final frame. The Gators also had two 3+ minute scoring droughts in the final twenty minutes of Saturday evening’s game.
• 2. There’s just no stopping Collin Sexton: The Gators did all they could to stop Collin Sexton, but it didn’t really matter. The freshman guard will more than likely go in the lottery portion of the 2018 NBA Draft and for good reason. Sexton finished the game with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in 32 minutes of play vs. Florida. He was solid on the defensive end, adding 2 steals and 1 block. Sexton was one of the main reasons the Tide held Chiozza to only 4 points on 2-9 shooting on Saturday.
• 3. Aggressive KeVaughn Allen is the Best KeVaughn Allen: Despite the loss, KeVaughn Allen passed Taurean Green for 37^th on Florida’s all-time scoring list on Saturday. The junior finished with 16 points on 3-7 shooting from long-range, adding 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. It was nice to see Allen playing so aggressively vs. Alabama, but the rest of the team just couldn’t get it done.
• 4. Hudson’s shot selection needs to get better: Jalen Hudson is now 6-24 from the field in Florida’s past two games. He’s also 3-10 from deep during that span. While Hudson has the ability to hit shots in defenders’ faces, he’s been forcing too many of those attempts lately. The Gators need Hudson to be at their best for their offense to work the way that it should. The Virginia Tech-transfer also had 5 turnovers against the Crimson Tide.
• 5. No Help Off the Bench: No, this stat is not a typo. Florida was outscored in bench points on Saturday evening, 29-1. Michael Okauru added the lone point on a free throw with 2 minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the contest. While most of the Gators’ bench points usually come from Jalen Hudson, who started Saturday’s tilt, there’s no excuse for the team’s reserves scoring only one point. Florida’s bench went a combined 0-7 from the field against Alabama.