Florida uses second-half surge to defeat Alabama, advance to SEC tournament championship

At halftime of Saturday’s SEC tournament semifinal, Florida had a two-point lead over Alabama as the two offenses were on full display. That created intrigue heading into the second half – and the Gators took full control from there to advance to the championship.

Florida got red-hot in the second half, making more than 51% of its shot after halftime to take reach the 100-point mark and cruise to victory over Alabama. The Gators put up 57 points out of the break, dominating in every facet to set up an SEC tournament championship showdown against Tennessee.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the charge for UF as one of six players to reach double figures. He poured in 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three-point territory, while adding six assists. Will Richard and Alijah Martin both added 16 points, as well.

Perhaps the biggest key to victory, though, was the rebounding advantage. Florida pulled down 43 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass and turned those into 13 second-chance points. The Gators defense was also stifling, recording eight steals and four blocks while scoring 12 points off 10 Crimson Tide turnovers.

Florida’s defense struggled to contain Alabama in the first half, but completely flipped the script in the second half after Grant Nelson missed the remainder of the game with an injury. The Crimson Tide made just 34.4% of their shots in in the second half, including a 6-of-18 showing from deep, and struggled to keep pace with Florida’s dominant effort on the other side.

After trailing by two points at halftime, Alabama took a 48-47 lead on a Chris Youngblood three-pointer. From there, Florida responded with a 30-11 run over the next nine minutes of game action, taking all the momentum. All told, in the second half, the Gators outscored the Crimson Tide 57-37 and reached the century mark for the second time this season.

Youngblood led Alabama in scoring with 14 points, while Mouhamed Dioubate and Clifford Omoruyi both added 12. As a group, the Crimson Tide shot 41.8% from the floor after struggling mightily after halftime.

With the victory, Florida head to the SEC tournament championship for the second straight year. Last season, Todd Golden went head-to-head against his mentor and former boss, Bruce Pearl, and Auburn. This time around, Tennessee awaits after defeating the Tigers in the first game of Saturday’s slate.