The Gators will play Alabama in their last away game of the 2023-24 regular season. The contest is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be streamed on SECN+.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -Florida will head to Tuscaloosa for a Thursday night contest against the Crimson Tide. The meeting between Florida and Alabama will be their first matchup in over a year. Thursday’s game will tip-off at 7 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum
The Gators are coming to Tuscaloosa after a tough 76-60 road loss to Georgia and Alabama will enter the home contest with a recent 87-75 win over Mississippi State. The contest between the Gators and Alabama will mark both teams’ fifteenth conference game of the season and after Thursday, both Florida and Alabama will only have one SEC game remaining before they head to Greenville.
ALABAMA (21-8, 8-6 SEC):
* Date: Thursday, Feb. 29
* Time: 6 p.m. CT
* Site: Coleman Coliseum
* Stream: SECN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/roadblock/_/id/f756ef5f-f9c9-436b-a83b-1241cdb69471>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5286&type=Archive>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=489368&vislive=fla>
THE SERIES:
The current series between Florida and Alabama is in favor of Alabama at 31-30 with the Gators behind by a single victory. Florida has won the last two matchups against Alabama, putting them on a two-game win streak over the Tide.
HISTORY:
Florida and Alabama have met a recorded 61 times in their respective school histories. In the last 10 matchups, Florida holds a 6-4 record and has seen success both at home and in Tuscaloosa. The most recent matchup between the Gators and Alabama dates back to Feb. 23, 2023, in Gainesville, Florida. The 2023 contest resulted in Florida edging Alabama 81-77 with four players in double-figures for scoring.
FLORIDA’S LAST GAME:
Florida’s last time out was an 86-70 road loss against Georgia on Sunday afternoon. The Gators were led by Leilani Correa in scoring with a 21-point outing, followed by Zippy Broughton with 11 points to her name. Although Florida is ranked third in the conference for scoring they struggled to find a rhythm offensively against the Bulldogs. Florida was held to a shooting percentage of 30.9 from the field and 16 percent from the three in their last time out. Broughton and Correa were also the only two in double-figures for scoring, proving the abundant road adversity. The Gators are looking to reset in Alabama and set the tone for their final week of regular season play.
ABOUT ALABAMA:
Tracing back to the start of the 2023-24 season, Alabama has three players averaging in double figures for scoring: Sarah Ashlee Barker (16.8 ppg), Aaliyah Nye (14.3 ppg), and Jessica Timmons (11.6 ppg). On the boards, Alabama is led by Essence Cody and Barker, each averaging 6.4 rebounds per game and in total, Cody has grabbed 187 rebounds this season. Barker is not far behind with a running total of 179 rebounds this season.
In the Crimson Tide’s last time out, they were led by Aaliyah Nye with 28-points. Sarah Ashlee Barker was not far behind for Alabama with a 22-point outing against Mississippi State. Barker also led on the boards for Alabama with 12, securing her third double-double of the 2023-24 season. Overall, Alabama was shooting 50.7 percent from the field compared to Mississippi State’s 45.6 percent to give them the 87-75 victory.
QUICK HITS:
* Thursday’s game will be Florida’s first midweek matchup on the road in over a month
* Dating back to 2012, the Gators are 10-4 against the Tide
* In Florida’s 22 games at Alabama, the Gators hold a 9-13 record
* In Florida’s last 10 games on the road against the Tide they are 6-4
* The Gators had a seven-game win streak over Alabama spanning from 2012 to 2017
* Guard Sara Ashlee Barker leads Alabama in scoring with an SEC seventh-best 16.8 points per game
* Barker’s field goal percentage of 50.6% is the fourth-best in the conference
* In conference play, Alabama has two players averaging 15 ppg or more: Sarah Ashlee Baker (17.9) and Aaliyah Nye (15.0)
* Essence Cody has recorded 1.93 blocks per game in conference play, ranking her fourth in the SEC
* During SEC play, the Tide have been outscoring their opponents by an average of +13.34 points per game
* Alabama is third in the conference for the highest scoring margin sitting two spots behind South Carolina and one below LSU
* Florida is third in the league for offensive scoring with an average of 76.15 points per game, Alabama is three spots behind with an average of 73.66
#GoGators
