OGT-Florida vs Alabama 3/15/2024 (9:30 pm -- SECN)

Mar 15 (Fri) 9:30 PM
Florida vs Alabama
#18 Alabama
Nashville, TN
Radio: Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD

• Watch
• Listen
• Game Notes

BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Tom Hart
Analyst: Dane Bradshaw
Sideline: Alyssa Lang

Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Ega

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
38-27 | 2nd season at UF
95-63 | 5th season overall

Nate Oats
113-52 | 5th season at Alabama
209-95 | 9th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 71-79
In SEC Tournament: 7-7
Series under Golden: 1-2
Last Meeting:
W, 105-87, 3/5/24 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.1 13.9 7.8 1.7 ast
3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 19.8 5.7 7.2 .626 fg%
0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 33.5 15.5 3.9 5.1 ast
1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 31.2 17.1 3.7 2.5 3fg
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.3 11.3 4.0 1.9 3fg

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
2 Grant Nelson F 6-11 230 Sr. 25.8 12.0 5.7 1.5 blk
23 Nick Pringle F 6-10 230 Sr. 17.8 6.8 4.8 .646 fg%
1 Mark Sears G 6-1 185 Sr. 32.8 21.1 4.0 2.4 3fg
12 Latrell Wrightsell Jr. G 6-3 190 Sr. 23.9 9.1 3.1 2.3 3fg
55 Aaron Estrada G 6-3 190 Gr. 29.9 13.4 5.3 4.5 ast

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
200​

With 200 combined offensive rebounds, Micah Handlogten (103)
and Tyrese Samuel (97) are UF’s top single-season offensive rebound-
ing duo, surpassing the previous high of 198 in 2006-07 by Joakim
Noah (102) and Al Horford (96).

4.23​

Zyon Pullin’s 4.23 assist-to-turn-over ratio leads the nation. UF’s
first-team All-SEC point guard has back-to-back eight-assist games.

14​

Walter Clayton Jr.’s 548 points this season rank 14th in Florida history
and have him 14 points from passing Anthony Roberson’s 561 in
2004-05 to move into UF’s top-10 single-season scoring totals.

 

THE TIP-OFF
• Florida and Alabama meet for the third time in 24 days with the home team taking both regular season meetings. UF’s 105 points against Alabama in its Senior Night win marked Florida’s most ever in regulation against a top-25 opponent as four Gators scored 19+ points in the victory, led by Will Richard’s 23.

• First-team All-SEC honoree Zyon Pullin leads the nation and is on pace to post the SEC’s best single-season assist-to-turnover ratio (4.23) of the 2000s. Pullin’s scoring average and assist/turnover ratio combination of 15.7 ppg and 4.38 A/TO has only been surpassed once nationally since the 1996-97 season (Monte Morris,
Iowa St., 2016-17, 16.4, 5.17).

• Leading scorer and second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. has the 14th-best scoring season in Florida history with 548 points while knocking down 81 3-pointers, two away from moving past Taurean Green (82 in
2006-07) and into Florida’s top-10 all-time single-season 3-point performances.

• In the frontcourt, Florida has gotten 11 double-doubles from AP second-team All-SEC Tyrese Samuel, most by a Gator since Al Horford’s 16 in 2006-07, and a 17.9% offensive rebounding percentage from Micah Handlogten, which ranks fourth in the nation. SEC All-Freshman Alex Condon leads the league’s freshmen in rebounding )(6.3) and blocked shots (39).

2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS​

• Florida lit the scoreboard for 105 points in the win vs. 16th-ranked Alabama, the Gators’ most all-time in
regulation vs. a ranked opponent. Will Richard led the attack with 23 points and Walter Clayton Jr. added 22, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel scored 19 points each.

• Tyrese Samuel’s career-high 28 points led the Gators in the win vs. Missouri. Samuel (10 rebounds) and Micah
Handlogten (12 points/12 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, while Zyon Pullin added 21 points.

• Florida’s win vs. #12 Auburn marked the Gators’ 15th in a row at home vs. the Tigers. Riley Kugel’s 22 points led
the Gators, along with 20 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 19 by Zyon Pullin.

• The Gators win at 10th-ranked Kentucky featured a trio of 20-point scorers in Walter Clayton Jr. (23), Tyrese Samuel (22) and Zyon Pullin (21). Clayton’s 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left in regulation forced overtime.

• Micah Handlogten posted 23 points and 17 rebounds in the home win vs. Georgia, while Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the overtime period. The Gators completed the sweep in Athens for a 10th straight win
vs. Georgia behind 21 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 17 by Thomas Haugh.

• Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida committed a season-low seven turnovers. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. each added 15 points.

• Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double-overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in OT forced the final session.

• The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. , a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team.

 

Matchup​

FLORIDA IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
• All-Time Record: 47-52

• Championships: 4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2014)

• Runner-Up: 6 (1934, 1989, 1994, 2004, 2011, 2013)

• Florida notched its first SEC Tournament win since 2021 after falling in
overtime in its first game in 2022 and 2023.

• The Gators last advanced to the semifinals in 2019, knocking off
top-seeded LSU in the quarterfinals on Andrew Nembhard’s buzzer-
beater. That marked UF’s lone semifinal appearance since winning the
tournament in 2014.

• Florida and Alabama have split 14 all-time SEC Tournament meetings
with Alabama winning the first five from 1934-92 and UF taking seven
of the last nine between 1994-2015.

• The last SEC Tournament meeting, a Florida victory in 2015, marked
Billy Donovan’s 467th and final win as UF’s head coach as well as
Anthony Grant’s final game as Alabama’s head coach.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Feb. 24 at Kentucky L 95-117
Feb. 28 at Ole Miss W 103-88
March 2 Tennessee L 74-81
March 5 at Florida L 87-105
March 9 Arkansas W/OT 92-88
VS. ALABAMA, SEC TOURNAMENT (7-7)
Feb. 27, 1934 Atlanta (C) L 25-41
Feb. 28, 1979 Birmingham L 64-81
March 12, 1989 Knoxville (C) L 60-72
March 8, 1991 Nashville L 65-71
March 13, 1992 Birmingham L 60-62
March 12, 1994 Memphis (S) W 68-52
March 6, 1997 Memphis L 66-80
March 9, 2001 Nashville W 69-61
March 12, 2004 Atlanta W/OT 75-73
March 12, 2005 Atlanta (S) W 68-62
March 13, 2008 Atlanta L 69-80
March 9, 2012 New Orleans W 66-63
March 16, 2013 Nashville (S) W 61-51
March 12, 2015 Nashville W 69-61
S=Semifinals; C=Championship

LAST 20 VS. ALABAMA (14-6)
March 1, 2011 H W 78-51
Feb. 14, 2012 A W 61-52
March 9, 2012 SEC W 66-63
March 2, 2013 H W 64-52
March 16, 2013 SEC W 61-51
Jan. 23, 2014 A W 68-62
Feb. 8, 2014 H W 78-69
Jan. 27, 2015 A W 52-50
March 12, 2015 SEC W 69-61
Feb. 13, 2016 H L 55-61
Jan. 10, 2017 A W 80-67
Feb. 3, 2018 H L 50-68
Feb. 27, 2018 A W 73-52
Feb. 16, 2019 A W 71-53
Jan. 4, 2020 H W/2OT 104-98
Jan. 5, 2021 A L 71-86
Jan. 5, 2022 H L 70-83
Feb. 8, 2023 A L 69-97
Feb. 21, 2024 A L/OT 93-98
March 5, 2024 H W 105-87