Alabama basketball beat Kentucky Friday in Nashville, to open its 2025 SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s next opponent was determined earlier in the day, when Florida took down Missouri in Nashville to advance to the semifinals.
The teams will play for the second time this season on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena, with a chance to play for the tournament championship on the line. The game is scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday, and will be aired on ESPN
As Alabama prepares to battle UF once again, here’s what to know about the Gators.
The Tide lost the first matchup
Alabama already played Florida on March 5. The Gators paid Coleman Coliseum a visit and left with the win, dispatching Alabama 99-94.
The loss was part of the roughest stretch Nate Oats’ group went through this season. Leading into the regular-season finale win over Auburn, the Florida loss meant the Crimson Tide dropped four of six.
The Gators crushed Alabama on the boards in that game, outrebounding the Tide 50-35. Most notably, UF grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which it turned into 19 second-chance points.
Oats and company will need to get the rebounding issue fixed for the second matchup with the Gators if the Tide has any chance of advancing to the SEC title game.
“It seemed like they beat us to about every 50-50 ball,” Oats said after the loss. “They obviously destroyed us on the glass. In second-chance points, they had us doubled, and we gave up 26 fastbreak points, according to our stats, which is terrible. Twenty-six points in fastbreak, 19 second-chance is 45. That’s about half their points came on second-chance and transition. So we’ve gotta be better.”
Florida has a national player of the year contender
When the Naismith Trophy men’s player of the year semifinalists were announced on Saturday, the state of Alabama had two. Mark Sears was on the list of 10 for the Crimson Tide, while Johni Broome was there to represent Auburn.
Also on the list was Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., who had a solid showing against Alabama earlier this month. Clayton scored 22 points in the win over the Tide, and also contributed four rebounds and an assist.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard has averaged 17.2 points per game for the Gators, along with 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Clayton played well in Florida’s quarterfinal game against Missouri, finishing with 18 points, six assists and three rebounds.
He was named a first-team All-American by the Sporting News, one of the teams used to determine consensus and unanimous All-America players.
The Gators had an excellent regular season
Florida finished the regular season second in the SEC standings, trailing only Auburn. UF finished 14-4 in SEC play.
Its losses came at the hands of Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia. The Gators finished behind Auburn in the regular-season standings despite beating the Tigers in their only meeting, winning on the road in Auburn.
After UF took down Alabama, head coach Todd Golden explained what made the Gators so dangerous away from Gainesville.
“I think it’s the strength of our team,” Golden said. “We have a very mature team, workmanlike approach. We’re very consistent and for whatever reason, I feel like we really hone in and do a great job of preparing on the road and making sure we come in with a great mentality.”
