At the Buzzer: Alabama 68, Florida 50 (Instant Breakdown)

AT THE BUZZER
ALABAMA 68, No. 23 FLORIDA 50

WHAT HAPPENED: Believe it or not, this one was even more disheartening than three nights earlier. And it came at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Not only could the Gators not make a shot, but they weren't able to stop many, and lost a third straight Southeastern Conference game, this one (like Wednesday at Georgia) in lopsided fashion. Freshman point guard Collin Sexton scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished six assists, while power forward Donta Hall added 14 points, making all seven of his field-goal attempts, to go with 11 rebounds, as the Crimson Tide ripped UF for 56-percent shooting for the game and dismantled the home team 43-25 on the glass. Meanwhile, Florida managed just 33 percent overall, only 22.6 in the second half when they made only seven field goals. Junior guard KeVaughn Allen had 16 points for the Gators, with sophomore forward Keith Stone adding 12 points and five rebounds.

WHAT IT MEANS: The free fall continues. The third straight loss in league play matches the longest of Coach Mike White's tenure, as the Gators tumbled further behind front-running Auburn in the SEC standings. More to the point, this team looks lost right now. The last two second halves have been astounding, and, obviously, not in a good way.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The much-anticipated point guard battle between Sexton and Chris Chiozza turned out to be a lopsided affair. Sexton, who came as the SEC's No. 3 scorer at 18.7 points per game, made seven of his 15 shots, while Chiozza, averaging 12.7 per game and a league-leading 6.1 assists, tallied just four points and four assists, hitting only two of nine shots and missing all three of his shots from the 3-point line.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Seems inconceivable (though not how they've shot the last two games), but the Gators scored 17 points in the second half, when they went just 7-for-31 from the floor and 2-for-13 from deep. This on the heels of Wednesday's performance in Athens, where UF shot 24 percent in the second half and at one point missed 20 of 21 shots over the final 13-plus minutes.

STAGGERING STATISTIC 2: Alabama's bench outscored Florida's 29-1.

UP NEXT: Florida (15-8, 6-4) is home again Wednesday night to face LSU (13-9, 4-6), which beat Arkansas at home Saturday. The Tigers began the day one game out of the SEC cellar, tied with Texas A&M.

Gators Calendar

At the Buzzer: Alabama 68, Florida 50 (Instant Breakdown)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Keith Stone

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