Alabama basketball gets humbled by Florida, again: 3 Takeaways from SEC Tournament loss

For the second time in 10 days, Alabama basketball matched up with a Florida Gators team that might be the best team in the country, and for the second time the Tide was left wanting. Just when it looked like Alabama had flipped the switch to being a legitimate national title contender after beating Auburn on the road and blowing out Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals, the Tide found itself overmatched against the Gators in Nashville.

A competitive first half that saw the Gators lead by just two at halftime quickly turned into a rout in the second half. Florida figured things out defensively and Alabama's trio of lead guards - Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, and Aden Holloway - all struggled.

Florida pushed their lead all the way to 24 in the second half and the game was never really in doubt down the stretch as the Gators rolled to a 104-82 win.

Grant Nelson started the game playing at a really high-level, but he suffered a leg injury late in the first half and didn't play in the second.

Alabama was beaten on the glass again, but the bigger mismatch in this one was the guard play. Walter Clayton Jr. Alijah Martin, and Will Richard were all terrific for the Gators. They combined for 54 points with Clayton hitting 6-of-11 from three.

For Alabama, the loss was disappointing and officially ends the Tide's hopes of earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama will be a 2-seed when the brackets come out on Selection Sunday.

3 Takeaways from Alabama's loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals

3. This game was more about Florida than it was Alabama

When Florida plays to the level they are capable of playing to like they did today against Alabama, there's not a better team in the country. I don't think Alabama was terrible defensively, though they certainly didn't play their best game of the year on that side of the floor.

Florida is just a lot to deal with and they hit some difficult shots and did what they do by getting to the offensive glass and garnering second chance opportunities.

Florida has everything you want out of a true contender. They have a plethora of big bodies to sub in and out inside and they have elite guard play. There's not much that's going to stop them from making a deep NCAA Tournament run.

2. The game changed when Grant Nelson went out

Grant Nelson wasn't happy with his performance the first time Alabama played Florida. They needed him to step up today, and he most certainly did that before he went out with an injury and didn't return.

He scored nine points, grabbed three bounds, and had an assist, steal, and a blocked shot in 10 minutes of action. He threw down a thunderous dunk over Alex Condon a few minutes before he left the game with an injury:

Nelson going out wasn't the difference in the game, but any chance Alabama had of staying close ended when he went down. Hopefully, him sitting the remainder of the game was more precautionary as Alabama will need the best version of Nelson in order to have a shot at making a run once March Madness begins next week.

1. Alabama's guards have to be better, particularly Mark Sears

Alabama's ceiling when everyone is playing at a high level is still quite high. But the floor is lower than we hoped it would be when they don't get better performances from their lead guards.

Mark Sears has to better, point blank period. His three-point shot has completely abandoned him recently and that 30-point barrage to begin the month of March seems like a distant memory. After going 0-of-4 against Florida, Sears is now 4-of-26 (15.4%) from three over the past four games.

Alabama has had success when Sears has struggled, but it's not possible with both Philon and Holloway struggling, too. As good as Philon was in Alabama's win over Kentucky on Friday, he was the opposite against the Gators. He went 1-of-9 from the floor and scored just three points.

Holloway was just 3-of-9 from the field on his way to nine points.

If Alabama wants to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, all three have to be better moving forward.