Scouting Alabama: Another Top-10 Matchup For Florida

The No. 5 Florida Gators travel to Tuscaloosa to face the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time this season.

The Crimson Tide (23-6, 12-4 SEC) are looking to close their regular season on a high note this week.

Season Highs and Lows

Alabama started the season as the No. 2-ranked team in college basketball, but after suffering some surprising losses throughout the season, the ranking has fluctuated. The Crimson Tide have shown that they can compete with ranked teams, however, they’ve also come up short against unranked teams. For example, they beat unranked Rutgers by only five points in December and then proceeded to lose to unranked Oregon their next game. Although those games were at the beginning of the season, that inconsistency has carried over later into the season. The Crimson Tide beat unranked Arkansas by only four points, but then went on to beat Texas by 23 points.

Alabama has been able to show up in big games against ranked opponents, but has also seemed to underestimate some opponents and as a result had some close calls and surprising losses. Recent losses to Missouri and Tennessee were missed opportunities to prove consistent dominance over top-15 teams in the country. Now in March, the Tids need to get back to their winning ways.

Offensive Performances

Despite some of its inconsistencies, Alabama has plenty of offensive weapons. Senior guard Mark Sears, who’s averaging 19.1 points per game for the Crimson Tide, is the most obvious. Sears is also averaging three rebounds and five assists. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Crimson Tide also have forward Grant Nelson, who’s grabbing an average of eight rebounds a game alongside 11.8 points per game. Nelson is shooting an impressive 53% from the field this season.

Season Stats

Alabama is averaging a total of 91.0 points per game and shooting a collective 48.3% from the field. Not to mention the 43.7 rebounds a game they’re averaging. Defensively, the Crimson Tide are averaging 6.1 steals and 4.6 steals per contest.

Game Time

Alabama hosts the Gators (25-4, 12-4) on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and 103.7-FM.