Next-Day Takeaway

NEXT-DAY TAKEAWAY
Florida 73, Alabama 52
Three leftover thoughts from Wednesday's win at Tuscaloosa.

1) The Gators haven't amass the kind of point totals that caught the imagination of the college basketball world way back in November, but the last two games have offered up the most complete and efficient stretch of UF hoops the team has produced in weeks. Maybe months. Against the Crimson Tide (and three nights earlier against Auburn), Coach Mike White called fewer set plays in the half court and, instead, ordered up more usage of basic ball-screen action, with a lot of cutting and handoffs on the wings, and pretty much let his guys, as the saying goes, "go play basketball." Offensive possessions didn't go so deep into the shot clock. If a player (Jalen Hudson comes to mind) had an open look, he took it. If he saw a gap (take a bow, KeVaughn Allen), he drove it. The overall product just looked cleaner, more free-flowing. The Gators passed it around, found the open man, played the right way, with clearer minds, and without personal agendas. There weren't many transition opportunities, as Alabama is so athletic it can take those away. But you know what? Alabama didn't have many transition opportunities, either. The great rhythm the Gators were in offensively spilled over to the defensive end, via communication, adherence to the scouting report, and just, plain playing hard. When a team goes about its business that way, the game becomes contagious. UF has now put two back-to-back outstanding efforts together for the first time since winning at Texas A&M and Missouri the first week of January. The Gators know the ingredients — the first is effort — it takes to get them in their hoops happy place. After beating Auburn, the challenge was to carry the energy over to Alabama. They did that. Now, all that matters, is bringing it back home and releasing it on Kentucky.

2) Florida's perimeter players pretty much did all the damage, as the UF front court had mostly little numbers in the box score, with the exception of Keith Stone. The sophomore forward had a very solid outing, scoring eight points, with a couple 3-pointers, to go with three rebounds, a block, an assist and steal. On the plus-minus chart, Stone's plus-23 led the team. After Stone, though, the combination of Dontay Bassett, Kevarrius Hayes and Gorjok Gak totaled no points, six boards and four block. Bassett, who made his second straight start, played just five minutes because he was not feeling well. No, there was not a lot to show from the UF "bigs" as far as statistics, but no one will argue with what they collectively provided on the defensive end. Two of the biggest reasons the Tide's shooting percentage was so low: Shots were challenged in the post, for one; and even as Alabama obliterated the Gators on the glass (46-31 overall, including 20-6 on the offensive glass), all those second-chance opportunities were met with resistance, as well. UF broke Bama's spirit in the paint by (again) just playing hard. The fact 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward Donta Hall went 0-for-2 from the floor for the game — the first field-goal-less game for the Tide leader in shooting percentage (.733) this season — was a testament to what the Gators were doing in the post. Hall went 7-for-7 on his way to 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Bama's 68-50 rout in the first meeting. He had three points and four rebounds this time.

3) Let's talk tournaments. That's plural. We'll start with the SEC's, scheduled for next week in St. Louis. The Gators are tied for third place in the league standings with Arkansas, and likely with Kentucky by late Wednesday, assuming the Wildcats' beat Ole MIss at home. If UF beats UK in the regular-season finale Saturday, the Gators will lock up the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, which means a bye into Friday's third round. Should the Gators lose to Kentucky, the Wildcats get the 3-seed, but Florida still gets that bye if Arkansas loses its game Saturday at Missouri. Under that scenario, UF would hold tiebreakers against the Razorbacks and Tigers (and Mississippi State, if it wins at LSU) — all at 10-8 in league play — based on head-to-head victories earlier in the season. As for the tournament after that one, Florida bolstered a rock-solid collection of Quadrant 1 victories by adding a ninth by beating Alabama (with its top-75 RPI ranking) on the road. Florida's nine Quad 1 wins stand as the third-most nationally, behind only Kansas (11) and North Carolina (10), and ahead of Virginia and Auburn (8), then Villanova, Tennessee and West Virginia (7). A week ago, after losing at Tennessee, the Gators' RPI tumbled all the way to 67. After these last two wins, they're back up to 45th, with a chance to sore even more with a win Saturday.

Gators Calendar

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Dontay Bassett

Gorjok Gak

Kevarrius Hayes

Keith Stone

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