Bama Central

Live Blog: Updates from Alabama Basketball in SEC Tournament vs. Florida

Score updates and insight from Bridgestone Arena where the Crimson Tide takes on the Gators in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Hunter De|
Alabama vs. Florida in SEC Tournament Semifinal
Alabama vs. Florida in SEC Tournament Semifinal | Katie Windham

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

NASHVILLE–– BamaCentral is inside Bridgestone Arena and ready to cover some Alabama basketball at the 2025 SEC Tournament.

3-seed Alabama will be taking on 2-seed Florida for the second time this season, this time being in the conference semifinals. The Crimson Tide lost the first matchup at home in the final game of the regular season.

Tipoff will be approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of Tennessee and Auburn's game on SEC Network. Follow along for updates on Alabama Crimson Tide on SI throughout Saturday afternoon's game.

Live Blog

(latest updates at the top)

Final: Florida 104, Alabama 82

Final Score From Alabama vs. Florida in SEC Tournament Semifinal
Final Score From Alabama vs. Florida in SEC Tournament Semifinal | StatBroadcast

Second Half

2:08: Florida subbed out their starters as Gator fans gave them a standing ovation.

MEDIA TIMEOUT (3:38 2H): Florida leads 97-75: Alabama is matching Florida offensively in the last few minutes but the Tide's defense is still nowhere to be found.

TIMEOUT ALABAMA (9:24 2H): Florida leads 80-59; we have a blowout in Nashville as the Crimson Tide has no answers. Florida is currently on a 7-0 run and Alabama has made just one of its last 11 field goal attempts.

11:43 Alabama forward Derrion Reid, who played his first game since Feb. 15 yesterday due to an ankle injury, just checked into the game for the first time. The freshman is most known for his defense and athleticism

13:07: Alabama guard Mark Sears became the first player not named Chris Youngblood to put points on the board for the Crimson Tide in the second half. He did so via two free throws.

TIMEOUT ALABAMA (14:41 2H): Florida leads 62-50; Very rough start to the second half for Alabama as Florida went on a 15-2 run with dominance on both ends of the floor.

18:15: Alabama guard Chris Youngblood was assessed a flagrant one foul

Nelson returned to the bench about a minute into the second half. He was still hobbling a bit but was wearing the Alabama a shorts with the warmup shirt on.

When the Crimson Tide came out of the halftime break, Nelson was not seen warming up nor was he on the bench to open the second half.

Halftime: Florida 47, Alabama 45

Halftime Score of Alabama vs. Florida SEC Tournament Semifinal
Halftime Score of Alabama vs. Florida SEC Tournament Semifinal | StatBroadcast

First Half

Nelson is questionable to return with a left leg injury, per a UA spokesperson.

2:47: Alabama guard Labaron Philon had an outstanding performance against Kentucky but is struggling against Florida with zero points on four missed shots, two rebounds, three assists and two turnovers. He was subbed out after his second turnover and Alabama head coach Nate Oats was chewing at him while following him as Philon walked down the bench.

3:40: Nelson is going to the locker room with Alabama trainer Clarke Holter after hobbling around the court. Looked like he may have been stepped on while going for a defensive rebound.

Florida guard Will Richard went to the locker room with an injury. He averages 13.4 points per game. However, he came back to the bench after a very short period.

7:50: Free throws have been a major inconsistency for Alabama this season and its not off to a great start in Nashville as Dioubate's two misses makes the Tide 5 of 9 for the game.

10:30: It's been dunk city so far as Nelson and Omoruyi are attacking the rim. The Alabama frontcourt duo has 17 of Alabama's 33 points.

MEDIA TIMEOUT (11:35 1H): Alabama leads 25-22; Florida dominated Missouri with its efficiency from the field and the Gators are off to a solid 9 of 16 against Alabama. But the Crimson Tide are right there at 8-for-15. Alabama struggled from deep to start against Kentucky but is 4 of 8 already in this one. The Tide has been given some extra chances due to the outstanding work on the glass by forward Mouhamed Dioubate.

MEDIA TIMEOUT (15:29 1H): Alabama leads 12-11; Well we had a feeling this would be a high-scoring one with two of the best offenses in the country. Grant Nelson leads Alabama with five points. The Crimson Tide already has a pair of blocks between Nelson and center Clifford Omoruyi.

Alabama committed a turnover on its very first possession. It took the Crimson Tide roughly 15 minutes against Kentucky to give the ball away.

Pregame

Starting Lineups:

Alabama

Florida

Mark Sears

Walter Clayton Jr.

Labaron Philon

Will Richard

Chris Youngblood

Alijah Martin

Grant Nelson

Alex Condon

Clifford Omoruyi

Rueben Chinyelu

Officials for Alabama-Florida: Terry Oglesby, Bart Lennox, Steven Anderson

Tipoff is set for 2:53 p.m. CT

4-seed Tennessee took down 1-seed Auburn 70-65. The winner of Alabama-Florida will face the Volunteers tomorrow in the SEC Tournament Championship.

How to Watch: No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 2 Florida

Who: 3-seed Alabama (25-7, 12-5 SEC) vs. 2-seed Florida (28-4, 14-4 SEC)

When: Saturday, March 14 at roughly 2:30 p.m. CT (25 minutes after Auburn and Tennessee's semifinal matchup at noon)

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

TV: ESPN

Last meeting with Florida: The Gators spoiled Alabama's senior night with a 99-94 victory in Coleman Coliseum on March 5. Florida dominated Alabama on the glass with 50 rebounds compared to the Crimson Tide's 35. Alex Condon had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Gators, while Mark Sears led all scorers with 30 points.

Last time out Alabama: The Crimson Tide rolled over Kentucky in the final quarterfinal, 99-70. Alabama never trailed and five players finished in double figures, including a season-high 21 points from Labaron Philon.

Last time out Florida: Florida also had a relatively easy quarterfinal with a 95-81 win over Missouri. The Tigers showed a little fight, but the Gators were too much for the Tigers to overcome. Walter Clayton Jr. led Florida with 18 points and six assists.

Alabama Stat Leaders

  • Points: Mark Sears (19.0)
  • Rebounds: Grant Nelson (7.8)
  • Assists: Mark Sears (5.0)

Florida Stat Leaders

  • Points: Walter Clayton Jr. (17.3)
  • Rebounds: Alex Condon (8.0)
  • Assists: Walter Clayton Jr. (4.4)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.

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