In the Alabama Crimson Tide’s final home of the regular season, the No. 5 Florida Gators came out victorious in a 99-94 shootout against the Crimson Tide. That loss was the second straight and fourth out of the last six games for Alabama, and Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats is keenly aware of the downward spiral his team is on.
“We knew it was going to be a tough stretch to close,” Oats said. “I thought we’d do better. I thought we’d at least play with more effort; I’m not panicked we’re losing it’s more concerning how we lost, you know, getting out-rebounded by 15 and just not getting the 50-50, balls. And I think Florida had more pop, more energy. So that’s concerning to me.”
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats.
The Crimson Tide allowed Florida to grab 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points and a 22-10 fast breakpoint advantage for the Gators.
“You got to be able to rebound the ball on the defensive side, to get out in transition,” Oats said. “The fact that, you know, they had 16 (offensive) boards… I mean, you saw we’re taking (the ball) out of the net too much. We were trying to run on makes. We’re too slow getting it out. But if you can’t get stops, it’s hard to be, you know, a fast-paced team…So our defensive rebounding wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Alabama will have a chance to right the ship in the regular season finale on Saturday when it travels to face No. 1 Auburn inside Neville Arena. The Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 94-85 on February 15 in the first contest between the two rivals.
No. 7 Alabama Falls for Second Straight Game to No. 5 Florida
