GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 23/23 Alabama men’s basketball team led early in the first half before No. 19/21 Florida went on a 9-0 run and never looked back, downing the Crimson Tide 100-77 on Sunday afternoon at the Stephen O’Connell Center.

Alabama (14-7, 4-4 SEC) was led once again by its backcourt as Aden Holloway scored 19 points to go along with Labaron Philon Jr.’s 14 points. Charles Bediako led the team in boards, grabbing seven rebounds and swatting away four shots.

Florida (16-6, 7-2 SEC) was spearheaded by the veteran frontcourt duo of Alex Condon (22) and Thomas Haugh (25), who combined for nearly half of the Gators’ points

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments 

“Florida came to play today. Their crowd was great, and their energy was great. They turned us over 18 times. Boogie Fland ended up with eight steals, they have incredibly good guards. Everyone is afraid of Florida’s frontcourt, rightfully so. They are tough, they’re good, they’re skilled. (Rueben) Chinyelu is one of my favorite players in the league, and he ended up with 14 (points) and 17 (Rebounds), which is ridiculous numbers. 

“The guards really controlled this game here. I am disappointed with our guard play and the number of turnovers, and we forced two turnovers all game, only one of which was in their backcourt. It is hard to win a game when you are minus 16 in the turnover battle and minus 6 on the offensive glass. We always try to win the possession game, and they destroyed us in the possession game, they scored 100 points and only made three threes. Why take threes when you get dunks and layups off turnovers. 

“It is disappointing, but it’s also a credit to Florida’s game plan. They switched on all our players, and we didn’t handle the physicality well. It caused our guards major problems, and we did a terrible job adjusting to it.”

Team Stats 

• Alabama recorded 16 assists on 27 made field goals, including a team-leading five from Aiden Sherrell
• The Crimson Tide followed up last game’s 16 made threes by connecting on 14-of-34 (41 percent) triples, compared to Florida’s three made from deep (3-of-13)
• Alabama recorded a season-high 18 turnovers, compared to just two turnovers by Florida to result in the Gators outscoring the Tide 25-0 in points off turnovers
• Florida won the rebounding battle 44-33, including 26-14 in the second half, allowing 15 total offensive rebounds 
• The Gators won the game inside the paint, scoring 72 of its 100 points there, and outscoring the Tide 72-26 in the category
• UF outscored UA 26-3 in fast break points, helped largely by the Gators’ 13 steals compared to one steal by the Tide

First Half  

• Alabama started the game with a Labron Philon Jr. three-pointer before missing its next five shots and squandering a 6-0 run to Florida, falling behind 9-7 at the first media timeout (15:17)
• After starting 8-of-14 from the field, Alabama would hold Florida to one made field goal over its next eight shots, using defense to take a 22-20 lead with 8:59 left in the first stanza
• The Gators found their shooting ways again, going on a 13-2 run to take a double-digit lead at 41-30 with 3:07 left until the intermission
• Alabama closed the gap by a point over the final three minutes to go into the half down 10 (46-36)
• The Gators did not commit a turnover in the opening 20 minutes of play, compared to nine turnovers for the Tide
• Aden Holloway led the Tide at the half with 13 points, making three triples and grabbing two rebounds 
• Alabama is outrebounding the nation’s best rebounding team 19-18 at the half 

Second Half  

• The Gators opened the half on a 12-0 run to take control of the game, forcing five Alabama turnovers and grabbing seven offensive rebounds to extend its margin to 22 points (58-36) with 15:44 left in the game
• Alabama tried to claw its way back with the help of 11 points from Philon and Holloway to cut the lead to 16 (73-57) at the 7:47 mark
• The Crimson Tide’s second-half three-point shooting (6-of-13) kept the team within striking distance  
• Florida went on a 13-5 run to result in the 23-point final margin of victory
• Alabama dished out assists on 11 of its 15 made baskets in the second half 

Up Next

• Alabama will come back home to welcome Texas A&M on Wednesday night
• Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum and can be seen on SEC Network