Florida and Alabama did not replicate their back-and-forth battle from two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa. Instead, it was a party in Gainesville, as the Gators got revenge in blowout fashion in front of a sold-out crowd on Senior Night. UF dominated No. 16 Alabama in a 105-87 upset Tuesday night.

When a team cracks triple digits, there are going to be a fair amount of double-figure scorers. Four Florida starters accounted for 19 or more, with Will Richard’s 23 points leading the charge (8-of-12 FG, 4-4 FT). Alex Condon added 10 off the bench in 19 minutes despite 4 fouls.

Here are 3 quick takeaways from the Gators’ big win:

This time, Florida closes it out with no drama

Closing out games has not been easy for Florida in 2023-24. In UF’s only home loss, Kentucky the Gators had an 8-point lead at the half, only for UK to go ahead with 1:17 left. The Gators had double-digit second-half leads in the losses at Alabama and South Carolina. In Gainesville, both Georgia and LSU made things unnecessarily close with late rallies.

The Gators made sure that wasn’t the case Tuesday, adding to its 9-point half-time lead (44-35) by outscoring the Crimson Tide 61-52 over the final 20 minutes.

Alabama’s Mark Sears had a sensational second half, but it wasn’t enough for the Tide. Sears scored 29 second-half points, finishing as the game’s high scorer with 33 on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 9-of-9 at the free-throw line.

Defending the ODome

If not for the Kentucky collapse, Florida would be looking at a 15-0 season in Gainesville. The Gators aren’t back to their Billy Donovan-era dominance, but it’s significant to go from 10-6 at home in Todd Golden’s first season to 14-1 in Year 2.

Winning handily over then-No. 12 Auburn (81-65) and No. 16 Alabama (105-87) as an unranked team shows that the ODome and the Rowdy Reptiles still make UF one of college basketball’s most underrated hostile environments.

The rest of the way, though, the Gators will be playing away from Gainesville.

March momentum

The loss to South Carolina made it unlikely for the Gators to secure a double-bye in the SEC Basketball Tournament. As an 11-6 team behind 13-3 Tennessee, 12-4 South Carolina, 12-5 Alabama, 11-5 Auburn and 11-5 Kentucky, the Gators need some chaos for a 4th-place finish.

If the Gators can replicate Tuesday’s effort, they have the chance to get hot at the right time.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi already has slotted Florida as a No. 6-seed trending upward. A win over Alabama, No. 7 in the current NET rankings, is a strong addition to Florida’s Big Dance resume.

With a Senior Night win in the books, Golden’s squad picks up a confidence boost before a few games in Nashville. First up is Vanderbilt in Memorial Gym, then the SEC Tournament in Bridgestone Arena.

Music City is known to throw quite a party. The Gators head there looking to crash it as a team that can score with anybody.

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