Florida Gators

FLORIDA at ALABAMA 

When: Saturday, 2 p.m. (EST)
Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.  
Records: Florida (13-11, 5-6); Alabama (15-9, 6-5)  
TV: ESPNU (Roy Philpott and Jimmy Dykes) 
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey) 



STAKES (The Setup)  Two teams still harboring NCAA Tournament hopes; one in a lot better position than the other (and playing at home). ... Florida snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday by beating Vanderbilt at home, while Alabama was smashed by 19 on the road at Mississippi State to halt a two-game winning streak against the Southeastern Conference's cellar dwellers (Georgia and Vandy). ... The winner will get a so-called Quad-1 victory added to its postseason resume, as both the Gators (41) and Crimson Tide (45) are ranked in the top 50 of the NET metrics system that will seed the NCAA field. ... Alabama leads the all-time series 75-68, including a 47-21 advantage at Tuscaloosa. UF, though, has won seven straight at Coleman Coliseum, including the last meeting between the two teams, Feb. 27, 2018, when the Gators exacted revenge on the Tide for a blowout loss earlier in the season in Gainesville. Three weeks after getting routed by 18 by the Tide, Florida smashed Alabama 73-52, behind 27 points from Jalen Hudson, along with Egor Koulechov's 15 points and four rebounds. The game was never in question, as the Gators rolled to a 37-18 halftime lead by making 13 of 26 shots, including four of eight from the arc. The Tide, well, weren't quite as sharp. They were an inexplicable 4-for-30 overall through 20 minutes, 1-for-8 from 3, and 9-for-15 from the free-throw line. That's 13.3 percent, 12.5 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Both teams went on to reach the NCAA Tournament. ... UF is 2-2 vs. Bama under Coach Mike White.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keyontae Johnson	F	6-5	225	Freshman	7.1 pts / 5.7 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	F	6-9	227	Senior	6.9 pts / 6.1 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-3	205	Freshman	11.3 pts / 2.5 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Senior	12.5 pts / 2.9 reb / 2.4 ast
Andrew Nembhard	PG	6-5	191	Freshman	7.3 pts / 2.7 reb / 5.4 ast

Alabama	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Donta Hall	F	6-9	230	Senior	11.0 pts / 8.6 reb / 1.9 blk
Tevin Mack	F	6-6	225	Junior	9.1 pts / 3.8 reb
Kira Lewis Jr.	G	6-3	167	Freshman	14.4 pts / 2.4 reb / 2.7 ast
Herbert Jones	G	6-7	206	Sophomore	6.3 pts / 4.0 reb
Dazon Ingram	G	6-5	210	Junior	7.8 pts / 4.0 reb / 2.6 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)  

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info) 
 

ABOUT THE GATORS: Their two freshman guards, point man Andrew Nembhard and shooter Noah Locke, are banged up of late, but playing through through the soreness. Nembhard is dealing with tendinitis in his knee, while Locke has some chronic hip pain that has been bothering him for several weeks, but really whacked him pretty good this week. And it's not going away any soon; no as long as he keeps playing. Trainer Dave Werner has managed the two's reps during practice this week.

Nembhard played just 16 minutes against Vanderbilt, but that was more because of foul trouble on his way to scoring nine points, grabbing three rebounds and finishing with more turnovers (2) than assists (1) for only the second time this season. Locke had his worst shooting day as a Gator, going 1-for-10 overall, including 1-for-9 from the 3-point line. And UF still won. More on that in a bit. ... Speaking of bad shooting nights, guard KeVaughn Allen missed his first eight shots and was scoreless through 36 minutes, 43 seconds against Vandy before finishing 1-for-9 overall and 0-for-4 from deep on his way to six points. It was Allen's first game shy of double figures since Dec. 22 against Florida Gulf Coast and stopped a career-long run of 12 straight such games. And UF still won. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes also spent the bulk of the Vandy game in foul trouble, playing just 13 minutes, his second-fewest against SEC teams this season. Hayes, however, was able to finish the game and help defensively, his strength, in the final minutes. ... Forward Keyontae Johnson had another terrific performance on his way to equaling his career high of 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds (one off his best). Also significant: Johnson hit all six of his free throws. After starting SEC play just three of eight from the line, Johnson has knocked down 12 of his last 13 free throws over four games. ... Life would likely be better for the Gators if they could get the kind of production from the bench (29 points) they got in the win over Vanderbilt. Ah, but the SEC doesn't have a lot of Vanderbilts, but that doesn't mean the likes of those backups -- namely forward Isaiah Stokes (career-high 8 points vs. Commodores), along with guards Deaundrae Ballard and Mike Okauru (8 points combined) -- can't pitch in something in a big road game. Not to be overlooked was the production of two other reserves, guard Jalen Hudson (10 points) and forward Dontay Bassett, who were key in picking up the slack while the starters had to sit. ...  ABOUT THE CRIMSON TIDE: This is their fourth season under former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, who is 72-55 with NCAA Tournament berth during his

tenure. Johnson has lured some awfully good players to Tuscaloosa, using his background in the pros as a helpful stepladder to prep for the next level. ... Alabama really does not excel in any area, showing up in the middle of the SEC pack in just about every statistical category. The Tide's best attribute might their work on the glass, where they check in third in rebounding margin (plus-4.7), offensive rebounding percentage (.726) and defensive rebounds (26.5 pg), as well as sixth in offensive rebounding percentage (.299). That'll be a challenge for undersized Florida, which is near the bottom third of the league in most rebounding categories. If the Gators show up with a hot hand or two they could have a chance. Alabama ranks dead-last in the league in field-goal percentage defense (.443), as well as steals per game (9.7). ... Power forward Donta Hall could be a problem. Or not. Example: In the win at Gainesville last season, Hall went 7-for-7 from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds. In the Tide's home loss vs. UF he took two shots (missed both), grabbed four rebounds and scored three points in just 17 minutes -- and he was not in foul trouble. ... John Petty is not starting, but the 6-5 wing leads the team in 3s made (40) and attempted (110), ranks second in scoring average (11.7 ppg) and is third in 3-point shooting percentage (.364). In the Tide's narrow 71-68 loss at Tennessee, Petty poured in a career-high 30 points. ... Forward Dazon Ingram  has started 80 of his 92 career games. This season he's shooting a highly efficient 49.5 percent from the floor and 48.3 from the arc. ... The previous UF coaching staff recruited backup guard Riley Norris, out of Albertville, Ala., very hard. His Bama career was thought to be over after suffering a season-ending hip injury last season, but the NCAA granted Norris a medical hardship season and he is averaging 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and hitting nearly 39 percent of 3s as a fifth-year graduate student.


STATS (Some Numbers of Note)  
 

* .763 — UF's free-throw percentage in SEC play, a significant uptick from earlier in the season, as well as seven points better than last season when the Gators hit just 69.3 percent from the line against the conference. 

* .833 — Florida's winning percentage against Alabama over the previous 20 seasons, based on a 25-5 record dating to 1999. That number includes a run of 11 straight wins over seven seasons (2009-15)

* 2 — Points needed by Allen to become the ninth player in UF history to reach the 1,600-point milestone. Three points will move him past Neal Walk (1966-69) and into the No. 8 spot among all-time Florida scorers. 

* 69 — Points scored by LSU guard Pete Maravich at Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 7, 1970 in a 106-104 loss to the Tide. Maravich, who tallied 47 in the second half, set an NCAA record that day for most points against a Division I opponent (remember, there was no 3-point line then) by hitting 26 of his 57 field-goal attempts and 17 of 21 free throws. His record stood for 21 years, until it was broken by Kevin Bradshaw, of US International, who scored 72 against Loyola Marymount in 1991 (with a 3-point line). 

* 1927 — The first year Florida and Alabama played in men's basketball. The date was Jan. 17. The place was Tuscaloosa. The winner was the Tide, 49-44. 


STATEMENT (Random thought) 

After playing two very difficult road games last week (at Auburn, then Tennessee), now the Gators have two more over the next five days (at Alabama, then Wednesday at LSU). Given their current postseason circumstances, they probably have to get one of them.