Florida Gators

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — When Alabama and Florida played in Gainesville to start the month of February, the Crimson Tide humiliated UF in front of its home crowd by holding the Gators to a measly 18 points in the second half on the way to leaving town with a lopsided 18-point victory.

Consider that beatdown returned … and then some.

Junior swingman Jalen Hudson poured in 27 points, scoring inside and out, but his stellar offensive display took second billing Tuesday night to a UF defense that held Bama to just four first-half field goals and went on to roll, stomp and bury the Tide for a 73-52 victory at Coleman Coliseum. The win was the second straight for the Gators (19-11, 10-7), who have looked like a different bunch than the version that dropped three straight Southeastern Conference games, and six of the previous eight, before defeating league-leading Auburn at home Saturday night.

Certainly, nothing like the one the Tide (17-13, 8-9) pummeled 68-50 just 24 days ago.

"We got embarrassed last time. Nobody liked that feeling, especially at home, and we definitely owed them one," said Hudson, whose team furthered its NCAA Tournament cause with yet another quality road win. "At the same time, we weren't playing like ourselves at that point in time, for whatever reason. We wanted to put an emphasis on defense [this time], regardless if we hit shots or not. We wanted that to be the focus."

Instead, they got both.
 
The Gators converted 48.2 percent for the game, despite going just 7-for-24 from the 3-point arc (29.2 percent). That's because, unlike the first meeting, they found success driving the basketball. Seeing UF at the rim was quite a contrast, considering Bama outscored Florida 46-26 in the paint in the first meeting.

But the defensive contrast was even more pronounced.

The Gators surrendered just four field goals on 30 first-half shots (13.3 percent) and held Tide point guard and soon-to-be NBA lottery pick Collin Sexton without a field goal on seven shot attempts through the first 20 minutes. In doing so, UF built a fat 37-18 edge at the half.

Yes, 18. As in the same the Gators scored in that infamous second half when Bama shot 56 percent and met next-to-no resistance in transition defense. Sexton, who had 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in the first one, finished this one with 14 points, but went just 5-for-15 from the floor and without a 3-point field goal. He had five rebounds and only three assists and three turnovers. Power forward Donta Hall, who went 7-for-7 in Gainesville with 11 rebounds and led the SEC in field-goal percentage at an astonishing 74.2 coming in, missed both his shots and was denied a field goal for the first time this season. Hall finished with three points and four rebounds.

"Florida came in here playing like a desperate team," said Alabama coach Avery Johnson, who was so frustrated during the second half, that his team down by 22 and 15 minutes still to play he subbed walk-on Lawson Schaefer for Sexton. "We got off to a decent start, but once they took control, they didn't give it back."

The Tide hit nearly 47 percent after halftime, but the Gators matched that number in building a lead that swelled to as many as 28 with just over seven minutes remaining.

What a turnaround on both ends, but especially on defense.

"The last 15 minutes of the [first meeting] we looked like we wanted no part of it. No more. … We took it a little personal," grad forward Egor Koulechov said. "We had to watch it over and over and over again this week. We knew, 'That's not us. That's not Florida basketball.' We had to start taking pride in our defense, in getting back better than the first game. This time, guys were a lot more urgent. And talking. They're a great transition offensive team."

On this night, Florida was better, be in its few transition opportunities, but especially in the half court.

Hudson hit nine of his 13 field-goal attempts, including three of five from the 3-point line. Koulechov added 15 points, on 7-for-11 shooting, but with only one from deep. Junior guard KeVaughn Allen had 13 points, while senior point guard Chris Chiozza grabbed nine rebounds and with four assists tied Erving Walker (2008-12) at 547 for the most in program history. 

"I thought we just had better ball and body movement of the basketball," UF coach Mike White said. "It allowed us to attack the basket, get downhill, get into the paint."

It didn't start right away. Alabama actually led 6-0 after forward Braxton Key (11 points, 8 rebounds) got out in transition for layup at the 18:34 mark. Three minutes later, at the first media timeout, the Gators had missed five of their first shots and trailed 7-2. For those watching at home, the scene must have been frustratingly reminiscent of six days ago when UF could not buy a bucket at Tennessee on the way to scoring just 18 in the first half.

On the team's bench, not so much.

"We didn't freak out," Hudson said.
 
Instead, they came out of the stoppage and scored 10 straight, the last eight by Hudson, including a pair of gorgeous in-rhythm 3s. UF carried the run all the way to intermission, scoring 35 of the game's next 46 points and headed to the locker room up by 19 points. Along the way, Bama went 14 minutes and 29 seconds without a field goal, at one point missing 19 straight shots.

So how did the Gators do it?

"[Being] in a stance. Intense. Moving with the basketball. Just our base principles, I thought, we carried out as well as we had all year," White said. "Our transition defense, the ability to get our defense set and give us a chance to guard them in the half court, [was much better]. We didn't do that in Gainesville."

Given the choice of doing it then or doing now — what with Saturday's regular-season finale against Kentucky, followed by next week's SEC Tournament, then another certain tournament that appears now to be a forgone conclusion — which do you think White would take?