That was a very enjoyable basketball game.. until it wasn't. Alabama and Florida swapped punches for the first half ending up tied after 20 minutes, but midway through the 2nd half the Gators flexed their muscles and went on a 12-2 run to put the game out of reach for Alabama to come back. They made a nice flurry of shots at the end, but it was too late. This was a game that showed just how good Florida is, and where Alabama is not good. Florida is a top 5 team for a reason as they have multiple big guys who can dribble, pass, and shoot very well and high IQ guards than can fill it up. Alabama struggles with bigs that are versatile, like Condon, and they got obliterated by him and their guards in dribble handoff/ball screen situations. They were getting wide open slips and alley-oops consistently, which was infuriating to watch. Mark Sears and Labaron Philon each had exceptional games again, but nobody else really stepped up outside of them in the backcourt. The frontcourt carried the team in scoring with Cliff and Aiden playing great basketball most of the game, but they could not stop the Gators on the other end enough for it to matter.
The good news for Alabama is there's only 2-3 teams in the entire country built like Florida. They wouldn't have to worry with facing a team like them until likely the Elite Eight, but they need to figure out a way to neutralize what they do so well. The problem is, is they have to face one of those 3 teams this Saturday in Auburn with each coming off a loss. I don't feel any differently about this Bama team after this game, but they do need to get healthy and get Reid back ASAP. He is someone they miss desperately on defense. This has been a gruesome stretch that would have you feeling better if they at least closed out the Tennessee game. This team will still be a locked in #2 seed in the NCAAT and set up to make the second weekend for a 3rd consecutive season.
The good news for Alabama is there's only 2-3 teams in the entire country built like Florida. They wouldn't have to worry with facing a team like them until likely the Elite Eight, but they need to figure out a way to neutralize what they do so well. The problem is, is they have to face one of those 3 teams this Saturday in Auburn with each coming off a loss. I don't feel any differently about this Bama team after this game, but they do need to get healthy and get Reid back ASAP. He is someone they miss desperately on defense. This has been a gruesome stretch that would have you feeling better if they at least closed out the Tennessee game. This team will still be a locked in #2 seed in the NCAAT and set up to make the second weekend for a 3rd consecutive season.
