Florida Gators
Alabama
No. 1 Florida Roars Back to Defeat No. 25 Alabama, 76-67
Thursday, February 15, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Junior Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) led top-ranked Florida (24-2, 11-0) with a game-high 20 points as the Gators came back to defeat No. 25 Alabama (18-7, 5-6), 76-67, on Wednesday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center to match the school record for consecutive wins with 17 straight.
After trailing by as many as 18 and being down 42-31 at the half, the Gators chipped away at the Crimson Tide advantage throughout the second half and took their first lead of the game at 56-54 with 9:24 remaining when Green sank a three-pointer. The basket capped a 17-4 run that started at the 15:25 mark when junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) connected on a jumper. All five of UF's starters scored during the run.
From there, the game went on to feature a total of seven lead changes and two ties. With the Gators up just one at 65-64 with a little over two minutes remaining, Green took charge scoring the game's next seven points on a three-pointer and four free throws. Green scored all 20 of his points in the second half including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. When he hit a free throw with 47 seconds remaining, Green became the 39th UF basketball player to score 1,000 career points.
The win was historic for the Gators in many fashions. The school record-tying 17 consecutive victories is the third time the Gators have won 17 in a row in the last 15 months. In addition, UF also matched the regular season record for wins with 24. It is the third time in school history UF has posted at least 24 wins, as they did so in 2002-03 and 2005-06. Furthermore, Florida has now won 17 straight in the O'Connell Center, which is the fourth-longest winning streak in O'Dome history. UF also matched the school record for single-season home wins with 16. For head coach Billy Donovan, it was his 250th career win.
Florida had four players finish in double figures scoring. Junior Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) netted 16 points and also leading the team with four assists and a game-high three steals. Junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) scored 12 points while pulling in six rebounds. Noah added 10 points while leading the team and tying for the game-high with eight rebounds.
A key difference in the game was the difference in shooting between the first and second halves. UF shot 63.6 percent from the field (14-of-22) in the second half after shooting 40.7 percent (11-for-27) in the first half. On the other hand, Alabama shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) in the first half but was held to just 37.0 percent (10-for-27) in the second half. The Gators outscored the Crimson Tide by 20 points in the second half. Another factor in the outcome came from the free throw line where the Gators scored 22 points on 30 shots whereas the Crimson Tide picked up only nine points from the charity stripe on 12 attempts.
Alabama took control early, opening the game with an 11-0 run and not allowed the Gators to get on the board until over four minutes into the contest. Then, after the teams exchanged a couple of baskets, the Crimson Tide added a 9-0 run stretching their advantage to 22-4, the largest lead of the game at 18 points. The 18-point deficit was the largest the Gators have faced this season. However, the Gators managed to outscore Alabama 27-20 over the final 13:20 of the half to give the game its halftime margin. Freshman Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) came off the bench with 7.15 left in the period and scored eight points including six on 3-of-3 shooting during an 8-2 run.
The Crimson Tide was led in scoring by Richard Hendrix, who finished with 16 points while also tying for the game-high eight rebounds. Three other Alabama players also scored in double figures. Alonzo Gee contributed 15 points, Jermareo Davidson added 13 points and Mykal Riley finished with 10 points.
Up next, the Gators go on the road to Nashville, Tenn. where they will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (17-8, 7-4) on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip-off is schedule for 1 p.m. ET.
