FINAL: Florida 105, No. 16 Alabama 87

What Happened

Junior guard Will Richard scored 23 points and led five Florida players into double-figure scoring, as the Gators out-offensed the No. 1 offense in the country in a 105-87 crushing of 16th-ranked Alabama before a raucous sellout crowd of more than 11,000 Tuesday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The win was UF's 10 of the last 13 games, but the lopsided nature of it -- in the team's 2023-24 home finale of this turn-around season under second-year Coach Todd Golden -- was pronounced, all but locking the team into a NCAA Tournament at-large berth. The Gators, in scoring their most points in regulation of a SEC game since 2017, shot 47 percent for the game and defended the explosive Crimson Tide at 40 percent through the game's first 30-plus minutes to open a 23-point lead and cruise home from there. Richard, coming off just his second scoreless game of the season, knocked down eight of hs 12 field-goal attempts, including three of five 3-pointers, plus all four of his free throws to go with five rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. was right behind him with 22 points, 15 of them coming on 16 free throws. UF's two terrific grad transfers, forward Tyrese Samuel and point guard Zyon Pullin, were fabulous on their "Senior Night." Samuel scored 19 points and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Pullin had 19 points, hit all eight of free throws and did not turn the ball over. The Gators, despite missing nine of their first 10 shots, led for all but 2:27, in great part because their frequent trips to the free-throw line, where they capitalized big-time. UF went 40 of 46, the team''s most makes in a game since 1998, including 31-for-35 in the second half. The Gators used a 10-2 run midway through the first period to open an eight-point lead that they stretched to nine by halftime, then to 14 four minutes into the second half, 17 with just over 12 minutes to go and 21 with 10 to play. This time, unlike a few previous SEC games with big leads, there was no drama, as UF never led by less than 15 after opening its fat margin. Bama, which lost a second straight game and was eliminated from the race to win the conference, was led by All-SEC senior guard Mark Sears, who scored all but four his 33 points in the second half.

Sophomore backup guard **Denzel Aberdeen** (11) buries a 3-pointer during the first half Wednesday night.

What it Means

The Tide came at No. 7 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, so put a fourth (for now) Quadrant 1 victory on the Gators' postseason resume, making them (again, for now, as NET rankings change in real time) 7-9 in Quad 1 and 2 opportunities. UF now has two top-10 Q1s (Auburn and Alabama) and three in the top 20 (Kentucky), with this one strong enough, perhaps, to push the Gators up a full seeding line. Florida now has its most regular-season wins since the 2017 season, when the Gators finished 24-7.

In the Spotlight

Richard totaled four points the previous two games on 1-for-13 combined shooting and 1-for-11 from the 3-point line. He is the X-factor on this team. Currently at 30.1 percent from the arc in SEC play, if Richard can inch his way closer to his 36.2-percent average as a Gator, a very good offense could become a great one come postseason.

Staggering Statistic

Alabama finished just 5-for-23 from the 3-point line. That's 21.7 percent, which marked the Tide's third-lowest in a game this season. Bama came into the game at 37.5 percent on the season, so its game number speaks to the attention to detail the Gators put on their defense after a sub-standard second half in the loss three days earlier at No. 18 South Carolina.

Up Next

Florida (21-9, 11-6) wrap the regular season Saturday on the road at Vanderbilt (8-21, 3-13), which has its midweek game Wednesday night at 15th-ranked Kentucky. The Gators defeated the Commodores 77-64 on Feb. 24 in Gainesville.

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