Florida vs. Alabama score, takeaways: No. 19 Gators back up trash talk, rolling No. 23 Tide

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

What looked like it might be a tight contest in Gainesville, Florida, became anything but at the midway point of Sunday afternoon’s battle between the No. 19 Florida Gators and No. 23 Alabama Crimson Tide. After an exciting back-and-forth start, the Gators pulled away for a rousing 100-77 victory over the Tide inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Amid a controversial period for Alabama, in which a state judge (who just so happens to be a program booster) granted a temporary restraining order allowing NBA G League player Charles Bediako to suit up for the program, Florida faced more adversity than it should have in the game.

Gators head coach Todd Golden was unfazed at Bediako suiting up. When asked about it earlier in the week, he stated emphatically, “We’re going to beat ’em anyways. … If he plays, we’ll beat ’em anyways.”

As a response, the Tide’s Nate Oats tried to take a shot at UF’s dominant frontcourt; however, he roundly got mocked for suggesting Florida was not being officiated properly. “When you can sit in the lane for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 seconds at a time, it helps you offensively,” he said.

Golden had the last laugh, as usual, improving to 5-2 against Oats with five straight wins in the series. UF has scored 99 or more points in all five of those victories.

Let’s take a look at what went down Sunday with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … junior center Rueben Chinyelu stole the ball in the paint, pushing it up the court to junior forward Thomas Haugh for a thunderous slam dunk that put the Gators back ahead by 20 points with 6:46 to play. Florida opened the second half by forcing five turnovers, creating a 12-0 run and developing a 22-point lead. The Tide did reduce their deficit to 16 points, but the Gators jumped ahead by as many as 27 following a late 11-0 run in the game’s final minutes.

First half focus: Sophomore guard Boogie Fland converted a couple of steals into fastbreak dunks early, but just as Florida was about to pull away, freshman G Isaiah Brown made two crucial mistakes. Intercepting an alley-oop intended for a teammate before fouling a 3-point attempt at the other end, Brown’s miscues led to a 5-point swing that helped Alabama tie the game. Battling both Bama and the officials, UF used an extended 13-2 run — led by a pair of huge plays from Haugh — to break a tie and take an 11-point lead.

The Gators were up 10 entering halftime, holding edges of 15-0 in fastbreak scoring, 12-0 in points off turnovers and 32-12 in paint scoring. UF did not commit a turnover and had 12 assists on 19 baskets. The only reason Bama was even in the game was poor perimeter defense, as the visitors made 6 of 14 shots from beyond the arc.

Exceptional efforts: Haugh and junior F/C Alex Condon played like the pair of twin towers Florida expected at the start of the season. Condon posted a season-high-tying 25 points, going 11 of 15 from the field with seven rebounds and six assists. Haugh scored 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting, hitting 2 of 6 triples while adding five boards. Condon did miss another trey, but he did a much better job playing in the paint, while Haugh’s length and aggressiveness kept Bama at bay on both ends.

Fland has scored more points for the Gators, but he’s yet to have a more complete performance than he did Sunday. The second-year floor general posted 15 points with eight assists and a career-high eight steals, one short of the program record for a single game. His activity on defense created numerous additional possessions and stood among the primary reasons Florida dominated the contest. Not to be outdone in that capacity was Chinyelu, who completed his sixth double-double in seven games and 13th of the season, grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds with three assists, two blocks and a steal. Chinyelu did not get deep enough into the paint offensively but still finished with 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 75-79 all-time against Alabama, 43-22 in the O’Dome and 5-2 under Golden … the Gators have scored 99+ points in all five of its consecutive wins over the Tide … Florida improved to 14-1 when leading at halftime, 16-1 when leading with 5 minutes left, 16-4 when outrebounding an opponent, 11-1 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 14-0 when outshooting an opponent, 12-2 when atempting more free throws, 10-2 when winning the bench scoring battle, 15-2 when 4+ players score in double figures and 9-0 when 5+ players score in double figures

What it means: The Gators were as dominant as ever Sunday, clearly motivated by Oats’ comments and Bediako being in uniform. Not only did Golden shut up his peer, Condon and Chinyelu stifled the NBA G Leaguer, even forcing him to foul out late in the contest. However, this win was not about Florida’s margin of victory but rather how impressively it reached that level of dominance, starting with not registering a turnover for the first 23:20 of the game and only giving the ball away twice in the contest.

Fland, Chinyelu and Condon were rabid defensively. Florida not only forced 18 turnovers, it created a 25-0 scoring margin off giveaways. The Gators were ferocious inside, dominating paint scoring 72-26 and becoming the first SEC team in the last 20 seasons to eclipse the 70-point mark against a power conference opponent. UF was also more aggressive up and down the court, winning fastbreak scoring 26-3, and it cleared Bama in every category except 3-point shooting (obviously).

The Gators proved to be an entirely different class than the Tide, and they have now won consecutive games by 47 and 23 points after a stunning home defeat by Auburn that seems to have gotten the team’s mind right.

What’s next? Florida will get extended rest before next suiting up when it visits Texas A&M on Saturday. The game will tip of at 8:30 p.m. ET and air live nationally on SEC Network.