Point guard Mark Sears has emerged as a strong candidate for first-team All-America honors. The left-handed playmaker is one of the most dynamic scorers in college basketball, ranking second in the SEC in points per game while shooting 47.1 percent on two-point attempts and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. Over his last four outings, Sears has averaged 27.5 points and 5.8 assists, highlighted by a 35-point, 10-assist, three-steal performance in a win at Mississippi State. He currently sits at No. 6 in KenPom.com’s Player of the Year rankings, trailing only Auburn’s Johni Broome (No. 2) in the conference and just ahead of Walter Clayton Jr. (No. 7). Freshman guard Aden Holloway, a 2023 McDonald’s All American, has been a major contributor off the bench. Averaging 12.0 points per game, Holloway is shooting 56.4 percent inside the arc and a team-best 42.3 percent from three-point range in 21 minutes per contest. Guard Chris Youngblood, a transfer from South Florida and the 2024 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, missed the first nine games of the season but has started the last 10. His impact has been felt on both ends of the floor, shooting 60 percent on two-pointers and 38 percent from deep. Against Mississippi State, he connected on seven three-pointers. Forward Grant Nelson proved to be a difficult matchup for Florida last season, scoring 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds in Alabama’s home victory. This year, Nelson has been far more effective inside the arc (65.6 percent) compared to outside (25.0 percent). He has recorded eight double-digit rebounding games and leads the team in blocked shots. Guard Labaron Philon, one of three top-40 recruits in Alabama’s 2024 class, is the only one without McDonald’s All American recognition. The Mobile, Alabama native has nonetheless earned a starting role in the last four games and has reached double figures in six of his past seven appearances.
No. 5 Florida vs. No. 7 Alabama
- Game Time: Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
- Venue: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- Team Records: Florida (25-4, 12-4) / Alabama (23-6, 12-4)
- Television: ESPN2 coverage with Dave Pasch, Jay Bilas, and Molly McGrath
- Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / [Stations list]
(featuring Sean Kelley, Lee Humphrey, and Steve Egan) - Tickets: [Ticket info]
Projected Starters
| Florida | Position | Height / Weight | Class | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Haugh | F | 6-9 / 215 | Sophomore | 9.1 pts / 6.1 reb |
| Rueben Chinyelu | C | 6-10 / 255 | Sophomore | 5.9 pts / 6.3 reb |
| Will Richard | G | 6-4 / 206 | Senior | 13.6 pts / 4.8 reb |
| Alijah Martin | G | 6-2 / 195 | Graduate | 14.7 pts / 4.7 reb |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | G | 6-2 / 195 | Senior | 16.9 pts / 3.7 reb / 4.0 ast |
| Alabama | Position | Height / Weight | Class | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Nelson | F | 6-11 / 230 | Senior | 11.8 pts / 8.0 reb |
| Clifford Omoruyi | F | 6-11 / 250 | Senior | 7.1 pts / 6.8 reb |
| Labaroon Philon | G | 6-4 / 177 | Freshman | 10.4 pts / 3.2 reb |
| Chris Youngblood | G | 6-4 / 223 | Senior | 10.2 pts / 2.6 reb |
| Mark Sears | G | 6-1 / 190 | Senior | 19.1 pts / 3.0 reb / 5.0 ast |
The Breakdown
Coleman Coliseum (capacity 15,316) in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
SETUP: Fifth-ranked Florida and seventh-ranked Alabama are set to meet in one of the marquee matchups of this Southeastern Conference season. The top-10 clash carries major implications for seeding in both the upcoming SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Both teams currently share second place in the league standings, with No. 1 Auburn already securing the regular-season crown. A Florida victory would lock in the No. 2 seed thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker, while an Alabama win would leave the second seed dependent on Saturday’s results as the regular season concludes. In the race for a coveted NCAA No. 1 seed, Alabama holds an advantage alongside Auburn, Duke, and Houston, though Florida still has a chance to alter the picture. Fourth-ranked Tennessee also remains in the mix. Florida enters having won seven of its last eight games, including an 89-70 triumph over No. 12 Texas A&M last Saturday. Alabama, meanwhile, is looking to rebound after surrendering a late four-point lead and falling on a 40-foot buzzer-beater at Tennessee — the first of three straight games against top-four opponents, with Florida next and Auburn to close the regular season.
SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series 79-72, but Florida snapped the Tide’s three-game streak last season with two wins in a 10-day span. The teams met three times over 21 days in high-scoring contests. Alabama claimed a 98-93 overtime win at home on Feb. 21, 2024, before Florida answered with a 105-87 rout in Gainesville on March 5. They met again in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, where Alabama jumped out to an early eight-point lead, but Florida surged to a 15-point halftime advantage behind 50-percent shooting and rolled to a 102-88 victory. Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. led the way with 23 points. That win was part of Florida’s run to the SEC title game for the first time since 2014, though the Gators ultimately fell to Auburn in the championship.
ETC: This contest marks the fourth time since 2021 that Florida has traveled to face Alabama, compared to just two visits by the Tide to Gainesville during that same five-year stretch.
Tale of the Tape
| Florida | Statistics | Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| 83.8 | Scoring | 90.1 |
| 0.467 | Field-goal percentage | 0.483 |
| 0.354 | 3-point percentage | 0.351 |
| 67.2 | Scoring defense | 80.1 |
| 0.394 | Field-goal percentage defense | 0.418 |
| 0.292 | 3-point percentage defense | 0.301 |
| 4th | KenPom.com overall ranking | 6th |
| 4th | KenPom.com offensive efficiency | 3rd |
| 7th | KenPom.com defensive efficiency | 37th |
| 68th | KenPom.com adjusted tempo | 1st |
| 4th | NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking | 6th |
| 28th | Overall strength of schedule ranking | 1st |
The Gators
Senior guard Will Richard combined for 55 points in UF's two games last week.
The Gators’ 19-point win over Texas A&M may not fully reflect how close the contest was, as the Aggies trailed by only six with under eight minutes remaining before Florida pulled away for another double-digit victory. Despite dropping two spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 following a midweek loss at Georgia, Florida now has 22 wins by margins of 10 points or more, including nine in SEC play. The team shot 48 percent, hit 14 three-pointers, dished out 21 assists, and held A&M to 39 percent shooting while also winning the rebounding battle against one of the nation’s strongest rebounding squads.
Florida remains one of just four programs ranked in the top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, joining Duke (2nd and 4th), Auburn (1st and 10th), and Houston (8th and 3rd). The Gators are fifth in effective field-goal defense, sixth in three-point defense (29.2 percent), and 10th in two-point defense (45.4 percent). Alabama, however, will present the toughest test yet for this improved defense, especially on the road. This matchup marks Florida’s third straight Quadrant 1 opportunity; the Gators are 6-4 in such games, while Alabama has 10 Q1 wins. Another chance could come Saturday against Ole Miss.
Guard Will Richard has been on a scoring surge, totaling 55 points over the last two games. He posted a career-high 30 in the loss at Georgia and followed with 25 against A&M, shooting 11-for-20 from beyond the arc across both contests. His season three-point percentage has climbed to 37.7 after starting at 26.7 through the first 10 games. Richard has also contributed at least five rebounds in three of his last four outings and multiple assists in two.
Alijah Martin added four first-half threes against A&M to help Florida build an 11-point halftime lead. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Point guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 10 points, including two threes, extending his streak of games with at least one made three to 51. He posted a game-high plus-20 rating, though he has now gone 12 straight games without reaching 20 points — the longest such stretch of his career at both Florida and Iona.
Backup guard Denzel Aberdeen (8.3 ppg) chipped in six points and three assists but has gone three straight games without a made three-pointer, shooting 2-for-12 over his last two contests. Reserve guard Urban Klavzar (3.8 ppg) scored four points but saw his streak of seven consecutive games with a three-pointer end.
Forward Alex Condon (10.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg) nearly recorded a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, showing progress in his second game back from an ankle injury. He shot 5-for-6 from the field but just 1-for-5 from the free-throw line, dropping his season percentage to 55.6. Whether he returns to the starting lineup after two games off the bench remains a coaching decision, as Thomas Haugh has excelled in his five consecutive starts, scoring 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting against A&M, including two threes.
Center Rueben Chinyelu, who had posted four straight double-digit scoring games earlier, has combined for just three points and five rebounds over his last two outings. His physical presence will be needed against Alabama’s interior scoring attack. Backup big Micah Handlogten (2.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg) continues to make an impact off the bench, collecting 17 rebounds — 10 offensive — in just 21 minutes across the last two games. Against A&M, he added two blocks, two assists, and two steals.
Reserve forward Sam Alexis (4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) returned to practice Monday and is nearing a comeback from an ankle injury that has sidelined him for five games.
The Crimson Tide
Alabama point guard Mark Sears (1)
Nate Oats has once again steered Alabama into national prominence, with the program on track for a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Oats, who led the Tide to their first Final Four last season, owns a 140-60 record across five years, including 74-32 in SEC competition. He has reached the 25-win mark in three of the past four seasons and is poised to do so again.
This year’s Alabama squad features one of the fastest and most efficient offenses in the country, ranking No. 1 in tempo and No. 3 in overall efficiency. The Tide, which slipped one spot in the latest AP poll, lead the SEC in effective field-goal percentage and two-point shooting (57.7%), while ranking third in three-point accuracy (38.3%) and offensive rebounding (35.6%). They have topped 100 points in eight contests, four of them against SEC opponents.
On defense, Alabama sits eighth in the league and 37th nationally in efficiency, while ranking near the bottom of the SEC in forcing turnovers. Their demanding non-conference schedule included matchups against Purdue, Illinois, Houston, Rutgers, Oregon, North Carolina, and Creighton — a stretch in which they went 5-2, highlighted by an upset of Houston. That victory has helped solidify their standing as a projected No. 1 seed in most bracket projections.
The Tide’s recent setback came in Knoxville, where Tennessee stunned them with a 40-foot buzzer-beater after Alabama committed a five-second violation under its own basket. That defeat marked their third loss in five games. At home, Alabama is 12-2 this season, with Ole Miss and Auburn handing them their only losses in Tuscaloosa.
Forward Clifford Omoruyi, a transfer from Rutgers, provides the primary strength inside. He pulled down 15 rebounds in the victory over Kentucky and currently leads the team in offensive boards.
Labaron Philon recently moved into the starting lineup, taking the spot of 6-foot-11, 215-pound forward Jarin Stevenson (5.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg). Stevenson, however, continues to contribute with 20-plus minutes of action in the paint. Sophomore Mouhamed Dioubate (6.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg) also plays a steady role in the rotation.
As for the McDonald’s All Americans, guard Derrion Reid (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and forward Aiden Sherrell (2.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg) serve as supporting pieces off the bench.
Numbers of Note
Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard (2) goes in for a run-out on his way to 21 points in UF's last win at Tuscaloosa six years ago.
- 1 — Florida needs just one more win to reach 26 in the regular season, which would tie the second-highest total in program history. The 2006-07 squad also finished 26-5 before capturing a second consecutive NCAA championship. The all-time record for regular-season victories is 29, set by the 2013-14 team.
- 5 — The number of SEC matchups in Florida basketball history, through the 2024 season, where both the Gators and their opponent were ranked in the AP Top 10.
- 5 — The count of SEC games during the 2024-25 campaign in which Florida and its opponent were both ranked in the AP Top 10, including Wednesday’s clash in Tuscaloosa.
- 100.0 — Florida’s scoring average across three meetings with Alabama last season. Those contests included a 98-93 overtime loss in Tuscaloosa, a 105-87 victory at the O’Dome, and a 102-88 win in the SEC Tournament.
- 2019 — The last time Florida earned a win in Tuscaloosa. Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard went a perfect 9-for-9 from the field for 21 points in a 71-53 rout of the Tide. At the time, Nembhard ranked fifth in the SEC in assists but didn’t record his first until the final two minutes, by which point the Gators had already secured control. Florida shot 54 percent while holding Alabama to its lowest scoring output of the season. Nembhard became the first SEC player in two decades to make at least nine field goals without a miss. Freshman forward Keyontae Johnson added 14 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, while senior guard KeVaughn Allen contributed 13 points, four boards, and three assists.
Bottom Line
Florida heads into a road showdown against a Final Four program with plenty on the line. March basketball doesn’t get much better.
Email Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
