Bama Central

Live Updates for Alabama Basketball's Top-25 Road Matchup Against Florida

Score updates and analysis as the Crimson Tide takes on the Gators in Gainesville.
Hunter De Siver|
Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats coaches at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, Mar 5, 2024.
Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats coaches at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, Mar 5, 2024. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

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Alabama Crimson Tide

No. 23 Alabama will play its 21st game of the regular season, and the eighth of SEC play, on Sunday, Feb. 1, on the road against No. 19 Florida.

Alabama has lost its last four matchups against Florida. Here is the Gators' point total for each game: 105, 102, 99 and 104. The Crimson Tide's defense has been a shaky subject for the past couple of years, but it has shown positive signs against many SEC teams, just not Florida and head coach Todd Golden.

Sunday's matchup against the defending national champions has some spice to it. Golden is not exactly on board with Alabama center Charles Bediako being eligible to play, and he claimed, "We're going to beat 'em anyways," earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Alabama head coach Nate Oats commended Florida for being the "best rebounding team in the country" on Friday. However, he proceeded to throw a jab at the Gators by stating, "When you can sit in the lane for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 seconds at a time, it helps your offensive rebounding quite a bit."

Follow along for live updates and analysis. Be sure to refresh your browser as the most recent events will be placed at the top of this page.

FINAL: Florida 100, Alabama 77

Second Half:

  • Charles Bediako has fouled out and Florida's Rueben Chinyelu raised his hands up to hype up the Gators crowd.
  • TIMEOUT (3:36 2H): Florida 85, Alabama 68: Alabama's offense has made some progress, as Aden Holloway leads with 19 points and Labaron Philon (14) and Aiden Sherrell (13) have combined for 27, but there's not much hope on the defensive end as the Crimson Tide can't get stops.
  • Florida's crowd started the "G League dropout" chant back up after Charles Bediako subbed into the game. He came in after a whistle blown from Florida's second turnover of the game. Alabama has a season-high 17 turnovers. After picking up his fourth foul of the game with under six minutes remaining, he returned to the bench and the chants came out once again.
  • TIMEOUT (11:43 2H): Florida 66, Alabama 47: Things are looking grim for Alabama. One of the biggest disparities in the game has been production down low. Florida is up to 50 points in the paint compared to Alabama's 20 (47 total).
  • Alabama scored its first points of the second half with 14:29 remaining (London Jemison 3).
  • TIMEOUT (15:44 2H): Florida 56, Alabama 36: Alabama is in danger of losing its fifth consecutive game to Florida, as the Gators have opened the second half up 10-0. UF just had its first turnover of the game, but UA had 14 before it. Florida now leads 10-5 on OREB as well.
  • Charles Bediako picked up his third foul and went to the bench with 18:55 remaining in the second half and Alabama down by double digits.

HALFTIME: Florida 46, Alabama 36

5 Standout Halftime Stats from Alabama-Florida:

  • Turnovers: Alabama 9, Florida 0
  • Points in Paint: Florida 32, Alabama 12
  • Alabama leads 19-18 on glass: Rueben Chinyelu has 8, Charles Bediako has 5
  • Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh combined 27 points
  • Aden Holloway has 13 points

First Half:

  • Florida center Rueben Chinyelu played defense on four Alabama players during a single possession. Chinyelu has been force down defensively in this one, as the SEC's leading rebounder has 8 boards.
  • Aiden Sherrell ends Florida's run with an and-1 down low. Can Alabama build off of this?
  • TIMEOUT (2:55 1H): Florida 41, Alabama 30: Brutal stretch for the Crimson Tide as the Gators are on a 9-0 run over the last 2 minutes (13-2 over the last 3:36). Alabama has 8 turnovers compared to UF's 0 and Florida is dominating 30-10 in the paint.
  • Ball movement on point for Alabama. Commentator Karl Ravech said on the broadcast that this was Charles Bediako’s seventh dunk since his return to Alabama (2.5 games).
  • TIMEOUT (7:47 1H): Florida 24, Alabama 22: The Crimson Tide is hanging in there, but it's shooting 39% from the field. Alabama holds a 15-11 lead on the glass (4-2 OREB), but the Gators are up 18-8 in points in the paint.
  • The ABC broadcast had been discussing the Charles Bediako case for the last couple of minutes and then put the timeline graphic on screen.
  • Amari Allen recorded his first points after missing the last two games due to an injury.
  • Florida fans are chanting “G League dropout” at Charles Bediako while taking free throws.
  • TIMEOUT (11:52 1H): Florida 18, Alabama 16: Solid start for Alabama's backcourt duo, as Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway have combined for 13 of the Crimson Tide's 16 points. Alabama leads 11-5 on the glass, including 4-0 on the O-boards.
  • Interesting graphic on the ABC broadcast showing Alabama’s percentage of shots by range. The Crimson Tide is third in Division I in 3-point (53%).
  • Amari Allen checked into the game after the media timeout. He missed the last two contests due to an injury.
  • TIMEOUT (15:17 1H): Florida 9, Alabama 7: Not the best shooting start for Alabama, as the Crimson Tide is 3 of 9 from the field, including 1 of 4 from deep. However, Alabama has a 6-3 edge over the best rebounding team in the country, including a 3-0 lead in the offensive glass.
  • Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr., who leads the SEC in points per game, gets the scoreboard running with a 3-pointer.

Pregame:

Starting Lineups:

Alabama:
G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
F Aiden Sherrell
C Charles Bediako

Florida:
G Boogie Fland
G Xaivian Lee
F Thomas Haugh
F Alex Condon
C Rueben Chinyelu

  • Nate Oats during the Crimson Tide Sports Network pregame show: "Amari practiced yesterday. Looked solid. I think he's not going to be 100 percent, but he's well enough recovered from the thigh injury that he looked pretty good. Holloway's as healthy as he's been in a few weeks. Wrightsell's getting better and better. This will be the first time we have everybody that we're anticipating having for the rest of the year together."

Alabama Final Availability Report (Feb. 1):

  • Collins Onyejiaka — Out
  • Davion Hannah — Out
  • Keitenn Bristow — Out

Amari Allen is no longer on the report and is available to face the Gators.

Florida Final Availability Report (Feb. 1):

  • All available

Amari Allen, Alabama's leading rebounder and one of its best scorers, has missed the last two games for the Crimson Tide with an injury suffered in the Oklahoma contest. But head coach Nate Oats said the freshman is "chomping at the bit" to face the Gators.

"Amari's yet to practice, but he's been going through some basketball workouts and looking a lot better," Oats said during a Friday press conference. "He's chomping at the bit, wanting to play. He's a competitor. If he's close to being able to play, I think he's going to play. But we'll probably end up being a game-time decision on him like it's been here recently."

Allen is averaging 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Crimson Tide as a true freshman. His name has started popping up on NBA draft boards as a potential one-and-done prospect. He has missed three total games this season.

The Crimson Tide will have the following scholarship players available against Florida:

G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
G Houston Mallette
G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
G Jalil Bethea
F Amari Allen
F Aiden Sherrell
F London Jemison
F Taylor Bowen
C Charles Bediako (temporary eligibility)
C Noah Williamson

How to Watch: Alabama vs. Florida

Who: No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 19 Florida (15-6, 6-2 SEC)

What: Alabama's eighth game of SEC Play (fourth on the road)

When: Sunday, Feb. 1, 12 p.m. CT

Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.

TV: ABC

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

SiriusXM: Channel 145 (Alabama), Channel 374 (Florida)

Series: Alabama leads 79-74, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 18, 1927. The Crimson Tide is 19-40 on the road against the Gators.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide got blown out by Florida 104-82 in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Grant Nelson left the game in the first half with an injury, and Alabama never seemed to recover. Chris Youngblood led the Tide with 14 points. The Crimson Tide struggled throughout the evening defending the Gators, allowing Florida to convert 49 percent from the floor and score 52 points in the paint. Alabama couldn't handle with the Gators' physicality losing the rebounding battle 50-34 and allowing Florida to score 19 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dismantled Missouri 90-64 at home on Jan. 27. Alabama led 24-21 at around the midway point of the first half, but the Crimson Tide proceeded to go on an 18-8 run and never looked back. Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led the way offensively, as he tallied 21 points on a career-high 7-for-10 from downtown. Defensively, UA allowed its fewest points to a Power Four opponent this season, including just 11 for Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell, who had 31 in last year's meeting. Alabama's frontcourt duo of Aiden Sherrell and Charles Bediako also stood out, as they combined for 30 points.

Last time out, Florida: The Gators obliterated South Carolina 95-48 on the road on Jan. 28. The 47-point margin of victory tied for UF's most-ever in an SEC game. Florida forward Thomas Haugh led the scoring column with 18 points, but four other Gators finished in double figures. Rueben Chinyelu shot a perfect 7 of 7 from the field and also collected 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Alex Condon squeaked into the double-digit scorers club with 10 points, but he was just one rebound and two assists shy of a triple-double. The Gamecocks converted 15 of their 58 field goal attempts (26 percent).

Alabama Stat Leaders

  • Points: Labaron Philon Jr. (22.0 on 51.6 FG%) *LEADS SEC*
  • Rebounds: Amari Allen (7.8, including 1.9 offensive)
  • Assists: Labaron Philon Jr. (5.1 with 2.7 turnovers)

Florida Stat Leaders

  • Points: Thomas Haugh (17.4 on 47.3 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Rueben Chinyelu (11.0, including 4.1 offensive) *LEADS SEC*
  • Assists: Boogie Fland (3.7 with 1.7 turnovers)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

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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