Coming off of a heartbreaking, buzzer beating loss to Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, Alabama basketball returns home for a key matchup against Florida in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night in the final home game of the season for the Crimson Tide.
It will be senior night for Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi, and Chris Youngblood. A win by Alabama would clinch a double bye in the SEC Tournament and ensure that Alabama is on the other side of the bracket from SEC regular season champion, Auburn.
The Crimson Tide comes in having lost three of its last five games, perhaps none more disappointing than the loss to Tennessee on Saturday. But fans of Alabama should be encouraged by that performance in Knoxville overall. The Vols are a really good team and Alabama outplayed them for 39.5 minutes on Saturday but were let down by poor execution and coaching at the end of each half.
But that level of effort and defensive intensity can carry this team a long way if it just stops making bone-headed plays in key situations.
Alabama has slipped to a projected 2-seed in Joe Lunardi's most recent bracketology but could potentially climb its way back to a 1-seed with a win over a Top 5 Florida team. Beating Florida and Auburn back-to-back to finish the regular season would clinch a 1-seed for Nate Oats and the Tide and render the loss to Tennessee as irrelevant.
It will take a big effort, even at home, for Alabama to come out on the right side of the matchup with a really potent Gators squad.
Alabama basketball a slight home favorite over Florida
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of FanDuel
Spread: Alabama -3.5
Over/Under: 178.5
How to Watch:
Tip Time: 6:00 PM CT
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: Fubo TV
Prediction:
KenPom views this game as a genuine toss-up, projecting an 88-87 win for Alabama and giving the Crimson Tide a 51% chance of winning. The Gators won't be intimidated by a difficult road environment having already gone to Neville Arena where they knocked off Auburn in early February.
Florida's massive frontline could create problems for Alabama, a team that likes to play some small ball. The Tide will need Cliff Omoruyi and Grant Nelson to avoid foul trouble and will need freshman backup center Aiden Sherrell to play well to be able to hold up against the Gators.
Florida will present a tremendous challenge for Alabama. But this is Mark Sears' last game in Coleman Coliseum and you have to figure the Crimson Tide will have a little extra juice for this one. I expect a close game, but Alabama pulls it out and earns the double bye in the SEC Tournament.