The Gators found nothing in the Heart of Dixie despite a career night for Florida freshman guard Riley Kugel and a stellar performance by graduate student forward Colin Castleton.
The Crimson Tide cruised through another Southeastern Conference opponent as the crowd in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sang along to Gainesville native Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
The Florida Gators (13-11, 6-5 SEC) were defeated by the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (21-3, 11-0 SEC) 97-69 Wednesday at the Coleman Coliseum. The Gators shot 35% from the field and allowed the Crimson Tide to shoot more than 40% from the floor and from 3-point range.
Alabama freshman forward Brandon Miller hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for the first points of the game.
Kugel got the Gators’ going with a mid-range jumper after Alabama freshman forward Noah Clowney scored a layup in transition.
UF struggled to stop the Crimson Tide in transition. Alabama shot 4-7 in the first five minutes of the opening half by enforcing itself in the paint.
Castleton kept Florida in the game early; he made five of the Gators’ first seven points. He brought UF within five, 12-7, after he made a highly contested layup at the rim.
The Crimson Tide’s freshman duo of Clowney and Miller hindered Castleton’s ability to work in the paint. A travel was called against the Florida big man near the midway point of the half as Miller and Clowney guarded him.
Alabama — which was on a 12-0 scoring run — increased the lead to 29-11 after two free throws by senior guard Jahvon Quinerly. UF, on the other hand, went scoreless for three and a half minutes.
The Crimson Tide’s run put the Gators behind by 20 points as they couldn’t match Alabama from beyond the arc. Bama finished the first half 9-17 from the perimeter, and UF shot 0-5.
The Crimson Tide’s run increased to 23-4 throughout a seven-minute stretch. A corner 3-pointer by Bama freshman guard Rylan Griffen forced Florida head coach Todd Golden to call a timeout, down 40-15.
The Gators woke up defensively, causing three straight Alabama turnovers after the timeout. This included a steal by UF graduate student guard Myreon Jones, who followed the steal with a missed wide-open layup.
Griffen attempted to swat the ball out of Jones’ hands minutes later and poked the veteran guard in the eyes. Jones left the game and didn’t return.
Crimson Tide junior guard Mark Sears took a quick first step, exploded toward the basket, and scored a layup as time expired in the half. Alabama led 52-23 going into halftime.
This was the ninth time Bama surpassed 50 points in a first half this season.
Florida went scoreless through the last four minutes of the first half. Alabama shot 56.3% from the field, while UF shot 23.3%.
Castleton was the leader of the Gators’ offense. He scored 13 of his 29 points in the first half.
Florida’s offense started the second half hot like sriracha. UF sophomore guard Will Richard scored six of the Gators’ first eight points — all coming in the opening two minutes of the half.
Richard was fouled by Alabama sophomore center Charles Bediako on a fast break and threw down a one-handed jam. Florida was down 54-31 with eighteen minutes remaining after Richard made his free throw.
The Crimson Tide went on a two-minute scoring drought while UF went on a 6-0 run. An alley-oop dunk by junior forward Nick Pringle broke Bama’s dry spell.
The Gators outscored Alabama 27-17 through the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the Crimson Tide matched baskets to keep its lead at double digits.
Kugel — who averages 19 minutes per game — played a majority of his 36 minutes in the second half. The Orlando, Florida, native scored a career-high 15 points against Alabama; 11 came in the second half.
Bama went on a 12-2 run through two minutes late in the half. A jumper by Sears pushed Alabama’s lead to 88-59 with less than five minutes remaining.
The Crimson Tide protected their lead and won 97-69. Alabama stayed undefeated at home and in SEC play.
Florida will return to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to play the Vanderbilt Commodores at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Contact Brandon Hernandez at bhernandez@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @BranH2001.
Brandon Hernandez is currently the enterprise sports writer and sports podcast host for The Independent Alligator. He likes long walks on the sidewalk and watching basketball tape in his off time. You can find most of his work @BranH2001 on X and on The Courtside Podcast on Spotify.
