[Westside]

WHAT HAPPENED: Humiliated on their home floor by the Crimson Tide nearly four weeks ago, the Gators enjoyed a Tuesday night of one-sided payback at Coleman Coliseum in their most dominant performance of the Southeastern Conference season. Junior swingman Jalen Hudson scored 27 points, grad forward Egor Koulechov was good for 15 points and four rebounds, while junior guard KeVaughn Allen threw in 13 more points, but it was the UF defense that rolled over the Crimson Tide, holding the home team to just four first-half field goals on 30 attempts to open a 19-point lead at the break. The Gators trailed 7-2 six-plus minutes in, but went on a 35-11 tear to intermission and never let up. The outcome was particularly impressive, for openers, because the Tide smashed the Gators 68-50 in Gainesville back on Feb. 3, and went into the game on a three-game losing skid, needing desperately to win the game to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes. Florida played like the desperate team. UF shot 48 percent for the game to Alabama's 30. Senior point guard Chris Chiozza finished with just four points, but had nine rebounds and four assists, the latter tying him (temporarily) with Erving Walker for the all-time record with 547.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators, after reeling to three straight SEC losses and six defeats over their previous eight in league play, have now won two straight and done so against one team, Auburn, which not only led the conference but was looking to lock up a high NCAA Tournament seed, and now at Alabama, which was out to protect its home floor and improve its postseason chances. Better yet, under the NCAA selection committee's new formula for seeding the tournament, Florida secured yet another "Quadrant 1" victory, by beating a Top-75 Ratings Percentage Index opponent on the road. The Gators now have nine Q-1s (pending results around the nation that can impact RPI numbers), which would be the third-most in the nation, behind only Kansas and North Carolina.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Let's go with Coach Mike White, who obviously pushed the right buttons with this team over the last two games, especially given the club's fragile psyche in wake of that three-game losing streak that included two defeats after leading by double digits in the second half. Don't tell White (or his players), folks, but Florida will be in its second straight NCAA Tournament.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Alabama missed 19 consecutive field-goal attempts from 18:34 to the 4:05 mark of the first period on the way to that 4-for-30 half (13.3 percent). Star point guard and lottery-pick-in-waiting Collin Sexton, who ripped the Gators for 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the first meeting, was 0-for-7 from the floor in the period. Bama forward Donta Hall, who came into the game shooting 76 percent from the floor and went 7-for-7 in his first crack at UF, did not make a field goal for the first time this season. The Tide hit four four field goals less than four minutes into the second half, but by then were still down by 22. Remember when the Gators missed 20 of 21 in their loss at Georgia? It happens elsewhere, too.

http://floridagators.com/news/2018/2/27/...eb-27.aspx

[pjdoug]

good win.

[geauxtigers75]

This was an absolute beat down by the Gators. I watched most of this one, they looked really good, meanwhile, Alabama looked flat out lost.

[E's Army]

Bama was terrible

[pjdoug]

This was an absolute beat down by the Gators. I watched most of this one, they looked really good, meanwhile, Alabama looked flat out lost.

surprising that they beat them that badly.