The No. 7 Alabama men's basketball team is recovering after a 99-94 loss to No. 5 Florida during its final home game of the season at Coleman Coliseum.
The Crimson Tide fell to 23-7 on the season and 12-5 in SEC play and now looks to its rematch with No. 1 Auburn over the weekend.
Mark Sears led Alabama (23-7, 12-5) on Wednesday night with 30 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Tide also got 19 points from Labaron Philon, 11 from Clifford Omoruyi and 10 points each from Grant Nelson and Aiden Sherrell.
Alex Condon had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Gators over Alabama.
Florida (26-4, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) also got 22 points and eight assists from Walter Clayton Jr. Florida strengthened its NCAA Tournament resume with a second road win over a top 10 team, after beating No. 1 Auburn on earlier this season. It’s the first time in program history the Gators have done it twice in one season.
Takeaways
Florida: The win could put the Gators ahead of Tennessee in the race for the final No. 1 seed. Florida entered Wednesday one spot ahead of the Volunteers in the NET rankings that are heavily considered by the selection committee, and put the Gators alone in second place in the SEC.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide are rarely beaten on the glass, but Florida outrebounded Alabama 50-35, including a 16-10 edge on the offensive end.
Key moment
Walter Jr. connected with Condon on two dunks within a minute of each other in the second half; the second one put the Gators up 12 with under eight minutes to go. Alabama was unable to bring the deficit to five points until the final 90 seconds of the game and never got within a single possession.
Key stat
Clayton Jr. and Condon combined for 36 of Florida’s 72 shot attempts from the field and 15 of its 29 free-throw attempts, carrying the Gators offensively.
Up next
Alabama finishes the regular season at No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, after the Tigers took just their second loss of conference play at Texas A&M on Tuesday. Florida hosts Ole Miss on Saturday.
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