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Alabama 61, Florida 55: Anemic offense leaves Gators wrecked by Tide

This was not what the Gators wanted.

By Andy Hutchins
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Florida hadn't lost at home to an SEC team, hadn't lost to Alabama in the 2010s, and hadn't lost to Alabama at home since the year before Billy Donovan was hired. And all of those distinctions were washed away on Saturday, as an offensive brownout by the Gators led to an 61-55 loss.

Alabama lost leading scorer Retin Obasohan (15 points on 16 shots) to a fifth foul with just over five minutes to play, and lost other starting guard Arthur Edwards seconds later. It didn't matter: The Crimson Tide held onto a lead that they seized for good in the second half behind Jimmie Taylor, whose 11 points and five blocks kept Alabama stabilized on a day when made shots were rare.

For Florida, they were nearly nonexistent. The Gators went 18-for-63 from the floor, 3-for-21 from three, and 16-for-27 from the free throw line, struggling in every possible way but one on offense. John Egbunu was 2-for-9 from the field and 6-for-14 from the line; his five offensive boards (of 12 total), part of the Gators' incredible 23 in the game, were largely for naught.

Same with Dorian Finney-Smith's five offensive boards (of nine total) and 12 points, Devin Robinson's 12 rebounds, 12 points from KeVaughn Allen and 10 more from Justin Leon, who looked good for the first time since suffering a concussion in January.

And it might be fair to blame Florida's two-headed point guard monster of Chris Chiozza and Kasey Hill for the offensive stagnation. Chiozza did more active harming on the day, with five turnovers and just seven points on 12 shots, but Hill played himself onto the bench with three fouls and some poor defense.

When every single player makes fewer than half of his shots and the other team wins with just 61 points on 42 percent shooting, though, it's not like there isn't plenty of blame to go around.

And if Florida plays any more games like this one against teams it should beat as the NCAA Tournament nears, there might be plenty more to dispense while waiting for the NIT to start.