Alabama
#24 Florida
No. 13/13 Men’s Basketball Faces No. 24/RV Florida in a Top-25 Clash
2/20/2024 10:46:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide faces a Gators’ team that has won four of its last five contests
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the first time since 2007, Alabama and Florida will face off in an AP Top-25 matchup as No. 15/15 Alabama hosts No. 24/RV Florida Wednesday night at Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide enter the game on a 15-game winning streak at home against Southeastern Conference opponents.
The matchup features two of the best offenses in the country as the Crimson Tide is scoring 90.7 points per game, which ranks No. 1 in the country, and the Gators average 84.8 points per contest (No. 9). Alabama has been exceptional on offense the last two games, converting 36 three-pointers while shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Broadcast
Wednesday's game is set for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff and will air on ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Notes You Need To Know
- Since head coach Nate Oats arrived at Alabama in 2019-20, the Crimson Tide has won a league-best 59 SEC contests
- Alabama is 16-21 against AP Top-25 opponents under Oats
- The Crimson Tide has won 15 straight SEC home games at Coleman Coliseum, the longest winning streak since 1988
- Alabama has scored 100-plus points in eight games this season, the most by an SEC school since Kentucky's 1995-96 team (nine games)
- Over the last five seasons, the Crimson Tide has posted 10 games converting 18 or more three-pointers in a game, the rest of the SEC has a combined five games during that span
- UA is the first Division I team in 25 years to make at least 18 two-point field goals and 18 three-pointers in consecutive conference games
- Mark Sears has scored 20-plus points in eight straight games, the longest streak by an Alabama player in the last 20 seasons
- Sears is one of two Division I players and the only Power 5 player that has 510 points, 105 rebounds, 95 assists and 60 three-pointers this season
- Sears has recorded 20 points or more in 16 games this season, the most since Collin Sexton in 2017-18 (16 games)
- Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring (20.6 ppg), No. 6 in field goal percentage (51.6) and No. 8 in assists (4.0 apg)
- Alabama is one of three schools (Purdue and Wright State) in the country that has two players on its current roster that have scored at least 1,700 points throughout their career in Sears (1,868 points) and Aaron Estrada (1,794 points)
About Florida
- Florida is in the AP Top-25 Poll (No. 24) for the first time in more than two years
- The Gators' 18 wins this season has surpassed last year's win total (16) and is one win away from matching last year's win total (9) during SEC play
- Florida is grabbing a Division I-best 44.2 rebounds per game
- Florida ranks No. 2 in the country in offensive rebounds per game (16.1 rpg) behind Texas A&M (18.0 rpg)
- The Gators are scoring 84.8 points per contest, which ranks No. 9 in Division I
- Zyon Pullin ranks No. 2 in the country in assist/turnover ratio (4.1)
- Pullin has scored double-figures in every game this season
- Tyrese Samuel has recorded nine double-doubles this season, which ranks No. 42 in the nation
- Samuel leads the SEC in field goal percentage, shooting 56.1 percent from the field
- Florida has two players that rank in the top-40 in offensive rebounds per game in Micah Handlogten (3.7 rpg) and Samuel (3.1 rpg)
- Walter Clayton Jr. is scoring 16.4 points per game, which ranks No. 7 in the SEC
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