Gators collapse during second half of home loss to Alabama
GAINESVILLE UF coach Mike White knew it in November, discussed it during December and harped on it throughout the month of January.
Now here it is February and White is at a loss for why his players remain unwilling or unable to buy in and sell out on the defensive end of the floor.
The Gators’ struggles there reached their nadir during the second half of Saturday’s 68-50 home loss to Alabama.
“It’s pretty frustrating that the coaches are constantly telling us to do this or that and we still don’t do it,” sophomore forward Keith Stone said. “Eventually it’s going to get to us.”
It got the Gators (15-8, 6-4 SEC) on Saturday, sealing their third consecutive SEC loss as UF’s NCAA Tournament résumé looks increasingly less impressive.
Alabama trailed 33-27 at halftime, but after an inspiring halftime speech from coach Avery Johnson, proceeded to run UF off the O’Connell Center floor and silenced an announced sellout crowd of 10,845.
The Crimson Tide (15-8, 6-4 SEC) opened the second half with an 8-0 run to knock the Gators on their heels. Alabama delivered the knockout blow a little later with a 15-2 run that converted a 41-39 UF lead into a 54-43 Tide advantage.
Johnson’s squad did most of its damage in transition, repeatedly catching the Gators flat-footed following a missed shot. Eleven of Alabama’s 18 secondhalf field goals were on either layups or dunks.
“That was as fast as I’ve seen our team run in a long of time,” Johnson said. “We had a sense of urgency. We had a competitive spirit.”
Meanwhile, the Gators ran out of gas and could not buy a basket.
Alabama outscored UF 41-17 during the second half as the Crimson Tide shot 58.1 percent (18 of 31) compared with 22.6 percent (7 of 31) for the Gators.
When the shots stopped falling, UF fell into a familiar and flummoxing pattern White has seen all too often.
“The identity of this team is very frustrating,” he said. “We’re not very tough. We pride ourselves on shots and points more so than anything else.”
Alabama freshman point guard Collin Sexton, a projected 2018 NBA draft lottery pick, led the Tide with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Forward Donta Hall added 14 points on 7 of 7 shooting and 11 rebounds.
UF shooting guard KeVaughn Allen led the Gators with 16 points, including eight straight early in the second half to temporarily keep his team in the game.
“I thought KeVaughn Allen was the only one of our team that played well,” White said.