In a game Alabama basketball needed to win, on its home floor, on Senior Night, the Crimson Tide was completely outclassed by the Florida Gators. The Gators were operating in a different weight class and forced Nate Oats and his Crimson Tide team to face some hard truths about how good this team actually is.
The Gators walked into Tuscaloosa and walked out with a 99-94 win.
Florida was flat out the better team. That part is equally not all that surprising and completely understandable. When Florida is operating at full capacity, I'm not sure there is a better team in the country. Last month, they went to Auburn and beat the Tigers in a game that wasn't really in doubt for the majority of the second half.
What was disappointing, however, is how much Florida won the hustle plays and on the glass. With their big front line, it wasn't surprising that Florida would win the battle on the glass. But how much they won on the glass against a Tide team that has been one of the better rebounding teams in the country was equally surprising and completely disappointing.
Coming off the buzzer beating loss to Tennessee on Saturday, you expected Alabama to come out with a sense of urgency that just didn't exist. Mark Sears certainly played with a sense of urgency as he led Alabama with 30 points. But fellow seniors Grant Nelson, Chris Youngblood, and Cliff Omoruyi struggled.
3 Takeaways from Alabama's loss to Florida
3. The difference in the game was Florida dominating the glass
Florida came into this game ranked 8th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, per KenPom. But in SEC play, Alabama is 2nd in the conference with Florida at 3rd. On Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, it looked more like a varsity team going against a JV team. Or big brother vs. little brother. Any way you want to slice it, Florida killed Alabama on the glass.
Florida's length was always going to be a problem, but the Gators won the glass by 15. Every loose ball seemed to go Florida's way.
Alabama was beaten by a better team. Flat out, Florida is better than Alabama. But Alabama could have won this game if they competed harder on the glass and competed harder to get loose balls. Nate Oats has built this program on blue collar stuff, and I'm sure he would be the first to tell you that the blue collar stuff was more in Florida's favor than the the scoreboard.
2. Alabama just isn't an elite team
It's time to accept the fact that this Alabama team just isn't elite. Maybe they would have been if injuries hadn't cost Latrell Wrightsell and Houston Mallette their seasons. Alabama's shooting hasn't been what it could have been with two proven 40%+ shooters sidelined for the majority of the year.
5-star freshman Derrion Reid has also missed a ton of time. Who knows what this team's ceiling would have been had they been 100% healthy?
Regardless, we knew we would find out what this team was made of in the final seven game stretch. Through six of those games, the Crimson Tide is now 2-4 and will likely be 2-5 after Saturday's road game at Auburn. It would take a monumental upset this weekend to knock the Tigers off at Neville Arena.
Auburn, Duke, and Florida are the top tier of college basketball. Alabama will slide into that second tier. The Crimson Tide is absolutely good enough to make a Final Four run. Unfortunately, they are not good enough to accomplish the biggest goal this team had, which was winning a national championship.
1. Mark Sears deserved better for his final game at Coleman
A better writer would come up with a better use of words for it, but it sucks that Mark Sears' last game at Coleman Coliseum ends in a defeat. He deserved better. He was far from perfect against the Gators, but he played his tail off from the opening whistle. Not everyone on the Alabama bench could say that.
Sears scored 30 points in his last game in Tuscaloosa to cap off a brilliant three-year career for the Crimson Tide.
Sears was part of what is probably the best overall team in the history of the program in 2022-2023 when he and Brandon Miller led Alabama to the SEC regular season and tournament titles and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Sears then led Alabama to the program's first Final Four last year. He has forever writ his name in crimson flame no matter how the rest of this season plays out.