The No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Florida Gators by a score of 97-69 to keep their SEC winning streak going. With their victory over the Gators on Wednesday, Alabama improved to 11-0 overall and 12-0 at home in SEC play. The Crimson Tide’s 11-0 start in SEC play is just the second occurrence of such a record in program history.
Once again, Alabama got the game going quickly in the first half, establishing a dominant 52-23 advantage by the time the second half could start. In the first half, the Crimson Tide made 9 of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc while holding the Gators without a field goal.
With a stifling defense, Alabama limited Florida to just 23 points on 23 percent of its shots. The only Florida Gator to have much success against Alabama in the first half was senior forward Colin Castleton, who scored 13 of the team’s 23 points during that period.
Alabama’s bench outperformed Florida’s bench 29-12, demonstrating their strength once more. Since their bench has averaged 34 points per game over the previous five games, Alabama has had success there recently. Jahvon Quinerly, who led the Crimson Tide’s bench in scoring with 11 points and made three of his five three-point attempts, presented a strong case for SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
Alabama’s offense was once again spearheaded by Brandon Miller, who finished with a team-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Mark Sears kept hot from behind the arc nailing four of his six three-point attempts and contributed 19 points for the Tide. Florida entered the game with a defense that only allowed opponents to make 29 percent of their three-point attempts, but Alabama would finish the game making 15 three-pointers and shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc.
The Crimson Tide put up a dominant performance overall, but its defense against strong opposition big men raises some questions. Colin Castleton, a 6’11” big man for Florida, had a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field.
Although Alabama has struggled against a good inside presence in the past, their overall performance in the game has so far covered up this flaw.
This Saturday, February 11, Alabama will travel to face in-state foe Auburn in one of the toughest games left on the schedule.
