Field Level Media
08 Feb 2023, 02:40 GMT+10
After a slight stumble in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge just over a week ago, No. 3 Alabama has climbed one spot in the national rankings and remains atop the Southeastern Conference.
Unbeaten in SEC play, coach Nate Oats' Crimson Tide (20-3, 10-0 SEC) will host the Florida Gators on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa in the only regular-season matchup between the rivals.
Since a 93-69 blowout loss to Oklahoma a couple of Saturdays ago, Alabama has rebounded with a pair of solid wins. At home, it demolished an inconsistent Vanderbilt side, 101-44 on Jan. 31, then went to Baton Rouge on Saturday and topped LSU 79-69.
In the latter win, Noah Clowney and Rylan Griffen led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points apiece as five Crimson Tide cagers netted double figures. Freshman star Brandon Miller contributed 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Nimari Burnett had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists.
For the most part, Alabama had to grind out the triumph in the bayou, but Oats said winning contests like the one over the weekend go a long way for teams seeking a conference title.
"It was definitely not one of our better wins, but sometimes when you compete for a league championship you go on the road and win games that are not pretty and are ugly," Oats said. "I thought we had some guys step up; that is back-to-back games that Nimari has played really well for us. And Rylan shot the ball really well tonight, so it was good to see some guys step up.
"I thought our defense was nowhere close to where we'd like it to be, but I thought late in the game we got some stops when we needed to."
Alabama improved to 10-0 in the SEC standings for the second time in three seasons and third time overall in school history.
Following a 67-54 upset of No. 2 Tennessee on Feb. 1, Florida (13-10, 6-4) battled back late Saturday but dropped a 72-67 decision at Kentucky -- a hard blow to the Gators' hopes of March Madness participation.
The wire-to-wire defeat dropped Florida to 2-8 in Quadrant I matches in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) category. It also fell to 11-54 against the Wildcats in Lexington and placed first-year coach Todd Golden's group alone in sixth place in the SEC standings.
Colin Castleton outplayed Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, the 2022 SEC and NCAA Player of the Year. Castleton had 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Tshiebwe had a season-low four points and 15 boards before fouling out.
Suddenly, beating the third-ranked Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa appears to fall under the designation of must-win.
Castleton said the Gators -- 3-4 in away games -- have to be more focused when they hit the road.
"We're on the road. It's a tough environment. You can't dig a hole," said the fifth-year senior. "It's something we've dealt with all year, whether it's guys missing wide-open layups or in the case of this game, transition (defense)."
Alabama has won the past two meetings in the series.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Herald Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Herald Globe.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: After several high-profile near collision incidents, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a safety alerts to ...
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Cambodian opposition figures--- Yim Sinorn and Hun Kosal--- have been charged under the country's rarely used ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court has ruled that a deaf student in Michigan can sue his public school district, ...
MANILA, Philippines: Under a defense agreement with the U.S., four new military bases will be located in various parts of ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that infections by the potentially deadly fungus ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court will hear a trademark dispute over a dog toy shaped like a Jack Daniel's ...
Atlanta Braves right-hander Kyle Wright will begin the season on the injured list, a move that will allow left-handers Jared ...
Though the Buffalo Sabres may fall short of ending their lengthy playoff drought, they continue to push. Meanwhile, the Montreal ...
Washington Wizards guards Bradley Beal and Monte Morris and forward Kyle Kuzma have all been ruled out for Sunday's game ...
New Delhi [India], March 26 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain ...
Outfielder Kole Calhoun is back on the free agent market after opting out of his minor league deal with the ...
Liverpool [United Kingdom], March 26 (ANI): Liverpool Legends went toe to toe against Celtic Legends and ended up with a ...