The Florida Gator men’s basketball team will look to end its three game skid on Tuesday night as they travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Tide, led by former Gator assistant coach Anthony Grant, lead the all-time series 73-64 but the Gators have had all the success in recent years. Billy Donovan’s club has won the last nine meetings including the last four inside Coleman Coliseum. The Gators are 21-5 against Bama under Donovan and this will be the only meeting between these two in the regular season.
The Gators (10-9, 3-3) will be entering this game fresh off a one point loss to the Ole Miss Rebels that they suffered just three days ago in Oxford, Mississippi. Despite the team’s struggles of late, Gator fans have seen a rise in play from junior shooting guard Michael Frazier II. Despite the loss to the Rebels, Frazier led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Frazier seemed to take that next step on Saturday and he notes that a lot must change for the team to find success.
“We just have to continue to battle in practice and continue to get better as a group defensively because that’s what’s going to help us win games,” Frazier said.
Redshirt junior Dorian Finney-Smith was the only other Gator to score in double figures with 15 points on Saturday and much of the conversation Monday morning was that the Gators seem to be lacking a third scorer. Guards Kasey Hill and Eli Carter have been struggling as of late with Carter totaling a high of just eight points in the last three games while Hill has totaled a high of just nine. Hill certainly didn’t light up the scoreboard on Saturday finishing with just one point and four turnovers but Donovan says a switch at point guard just isn’t imminent.
“I think if Chris Chiozza had made a real jump or was head and shoulders above a Kasey maybe I would do that but right now I just can’t do that,” Donovan said.
The other glaring issue the Gators have been dealing with is a lack of a post presence they’ve been dealing with all season. Senior transfer Jon Horford has been almost non-existent offensively since returning from suspension totaling just 10 points in the last four games. Horford played just eight minutes on Saturday finishing with just one point and in order for the Gators to find success they will need the veteran to regain the leadership qualities he held earlier in the year.
Sophomore forward Chris Walker is the other big man the Gators will be relying on as the rest of the season progresses and his five points and four rebounds per game must improve. Walker hasn’t scored in double figures since early December and the low amount of success Florida has had in the front court seems to show how limited the team can be offensively this year and how much the seniors from last year’s team are missed.
“This is not a surprise for me,” Donovan said. “Knowing what we had coming back and what we had going in and I think some of the preseason stuff or previous teams or the expectation part of it, you know I never really bought into it.”
Alabama (13-6, 3-3) enters this game with some struggles of its own having lost three of their last four. However, the Crimson Tide will enter into this match up riding a small wave of momentum after finding success their last time out against Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers.
Alabama boasts three players in double figures so far this season led by senior Levi Randolph who’s averaging 15 points per game. The two other leaders for Anthony Grant are upperclassmen Ricky Tarrant and Rodney Cooper who are averaging 13 and 10 points per game respectively. Alabama currently scores 69 points per game and shoots 45 percent from the field.
The good news for the Gators is that Alabama shoots just 31 percent from beyond the arc this season and with Florida’s perimeter defense lacking the past few games, this could spell good news. The bad news for the Gators is that the Crimson Tide shoot 73 percent from the free throw line, which ranks them second in the SEC behind the Rebels. Misses at the free throw line plagued the Gators last Saturday and another poor night from the charity stripe could lead to even more trouble Tuesday night.
Overall, Donovan and company will be looking for some sort of step in the right direction as they find themselves preparing for yet another tough mid-week game. Donovan is undefeated in eight different match ups against his former assistants but despite the recent success, Donovan notes that this Alabama team is one of the best, with a lot of talent is team will have to key in on.
“Much more balanced this year. Taylor is a year older, Tarrant was sitting out a year, Hale is a year older, Cooper has been there and I think Levi Randolph is having a phenomenal year.”
Tip-off between the Gators and Crimson Tide is set for Tuesday at 9pm and you can hear all the action on 103.7 the Gator with coverage beginning at 8:25.
To hear audio of the quotes above, click on the links below:
Michael Frazier II on the team needed to work harder
Billy Donovan on keeping Kasey Hill in starting 5
Billy Donovan on team’s struggles
Billy Donovan on talent at Alabama