What Happened

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  – Senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points to lead six Florida players into double figures, but it was what the fourth-ranked Gators did in a second-half stifling of Alabama’s high-powered offense that led to a 104-82 blowout of the fifth-ranked Crimson Tide in Saturday’s semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. 

Clayton dropped six from 3-point range and dished six assists without a turnover, while his senior perimeter mates Alijah Martin and Will Richard each scored 16 points. Sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu had his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes. Sophomore backup forward Thomas Haugh had 11 points, as the Gators secured a berth in the 2025 SEC championship game.

UF, winner of five straight and 11 of the previous 12, shot 51% for the game and went 12 of 27 from the 3-point line (44.4%). On the other end of the floor, they walled up on the Tide, armed with the league’s top-rated offense, to hold them to just 42 percent for the game, including 34 in the second half when the Gators seized command. First-team All-SEC point guard Mark Sears was hold to just nine points and did not make a 3.

From the jump, there was little doubt about tenor of this game, as both teams tried to play fast, score quickly and tallied near-identical first-half stats. UF shot 47% with six makes from 3. Bama shot 49% with five makes. Both had five made free throws, with the Gators taking a 47-45 lead to the locker room.  

Alabama, which lost second-leading scoer and top rebounder Grant Nelson in the first half to a knee injury, led by one, 48-47, after the first bucket of the second period, but a Martin 3-pointer started a run of 11 straight points for the first double-digit led of the game for either team. A 3-ball by guard Chris Youngblood stopped the UF spree, if only for a moment, as the Gators reeled off another 10-3 run to go up by 15. The closest the Tide got the rest of the way was 14, as Florida limited Bama to just 19% over the the first 10 minutes of the second half on the way to opening a 21-point margin with just over nine minutes to go. 

What it Means

The Gators will have a chance to win a championship Sunday, which was their goal coming in. Also, put away the pencil and ink the Gators into a No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament after beating Alabama, a 2024 Final Four team, for the fourth time the last two seasons. UF vaulted to No. 2 in the KenPom.com overall ratings, with its 10th Quadrant 1. 

In the Spotlight

On a day when everyone in UF’s nine-man rotation scored at least four points, how ’bout shout-outs to the low-post work put in by both Chinyelu, who went 5-for-7 from the floor and got his double-double in just 16 minutes, and 7-1 backup center Micah Handlogten, who had four points, 10 rebounds and a block in just 14 minutes off the bench. 

Staggering Statistic

In four consecutive wins against the Tide, the Gators have averaged 102.5 points.

Up Next

Florida (29-4) will face sixth-ranked Tennessee (27-9) for the 2025 SEC Tournament championship. The Gators have won the event four times in program history (2005, ’06, ’07 and ’14). The Volunteers have won it four times, the last coming in 2022

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu