Florida Gators at Alabama: Preview, Info, Where to Watch and More

Photo: Colin Castleton, Trey Bonham, Alex Fudge, Myreon Jones, Kowacie Reeves; Credit: Zach Goodall

Just one week removed from an upset victory over an AP Top 5 squad in Tennessee, the Gators are thrown back into the fire to take on No. 3 Alabama (20-3; 10-0) on the road on Wednesday night.

It's the third game in Florida's last four outings against a top-five opponent.

As Todd Golden's squad looks to continue bolstering its resume — after a close loss to Kentucky inside Rupp Arena — for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, a win against the top-ranked RPI team in the nation would go a long way. However, slowing the balanced Nate Oats' squad is a troubling endeavor.

You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.

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Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

When: Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. EST

Watch: ESPN2

Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / SiriusXM 382 / SXM App 972

Odds: Florida is a ten-point underdog to Kentucky, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 148.5 points.

Series history: The Gators are 70-77 all-time against the Crimson Tide, including 22-48 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. In the last matchup between the two on Jan. 5., 2022, Florida fell to Alabama in Gainesville, 83-70.

Important stories

The rundown

It's been big game after big game for Florida recently. But, that's life in the SEC.

Entering the closing stretch of the year, the Gators only have a few more opportunities to solidify its standing for March Madness. Handing Alabama its first SEC loss is precisely the way to do that, although It won't come easily.

The Crimson Tide have multiple ways to hurt their opposition, starting with wings Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. Will Richard, Alex Fudge and Riley Kugel will likely assume the duties of guarding the 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10 forwards, averaging over 10 points per game.

Miller, at 18.8 points, will be the main focus for the No. 10 Gators' defense to slow the No. 19 Bama offense, per KenPom.

The X-Factor for Alabama in this contest, as for the rest of the season as a whole, according to Oats, is reserve guard Jahvon Quinerly.

Shooting the ball at a 37.2% clip, the Hackensack, N.J., native embodies the Crimson Tide's offensive style as a team that drives to the bucket or shoots from beyond the arc. He's currently knocking down 41.6% of his triples in league play after a rocky start to his year from downtown.

Golden and Co. are mindful of the impact he can have if he gets hot on Wednesday night.

"Yeah, really good point guard, really good play-maker," he said on Tuesday. "Plays out of the pick and roll a lot. I would say [in] the past, inconsistent shooter but he's shooting the ball really well in conference play, so we're mindful of that."

Consequently, Florida will need to find bench production of its own, most likely in the form of Trey Bonham, who Golden said they "need to get going a little bit" on Tuesday.

Quinerly's shooting prowess is complementary to fellow guards Mark Sears and Jaden Brantley's dynamic impact on the scoreboard, scoring and facilitating, a major reason for Alabama's success this year.

"Between him and Sears and Brantley, they have multiple guys that can play out of the pick and roll, which makes them so difficult to guard. But he's an experienced player, I think he's a fourth-year or fifth-year player now, and he's one of the many reasons they're as good as they are."

Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones will have to combat that on both ends of the floor, maintaining their recent form in the face of adversity.

Florida will look for Colin Castleton to continue his recent hot streak — while getting off to a faster start — against 7-footer Charles Bediako to create sustainable offensive production.

Per usual for Florida over the last four matchups, the contest is an uphill battle for an upper-middle tier team to reign victorious over college basketball's elite. However, pulling out a victory would immediately catapult the Gators into a more favorable standing for March Madness as they'd sport two top-three wins on their resume.

It's not necessarily needed, but it would substantially boost a team in control of its destiny in the final eight games of the regular season.

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