Alabama basketball lost its second-straight game on Wednesday, falling 99-94 to Florida in Tuscaloosa. Coupled with the last-second disaster defeat against Tennessee, the Crimson Tide’s postseason fate has been muddied, with a chance at No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament getting slimmer.

The loss dropped the Tide to 23-7 on the season, 12-5 in SEC play. Alabama closes out the season Saturday at Auburn.

Before that, here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s loss.

Early issues

Alabama struggled at the rim in the first half. It’s been an issue throughout the season, and was on full display Wednesday, as the Crimson Tide went 4-for-12 on layups during the first 20 minutes.

After the devastating loss to Tennessee on Wednesday, Alabama needed to shake it off early. The Crimson Tide kept things close against the Gators, never falling behind by more than seven points.

However, the final seconds bug struck again late in the 1st half for the Tide. UA held a 40-36 lead with a minute remaining, before its defense faltered.

The Gators scored two consecutive baskets, gaining a 41-40 lead, but Alabama had a final chance to go to the locker room ahead. Mark Sears headed to the rack for a final layup try, but missed, and the clock expired.

Sears led the Tide with 16 points in the first half.

Familiar struggles

It was the same old struggles that ultimately did in Alabama. Oats has mentioned wanting more intensity from the Crimson Tide when rebounding, but Florida absolutely blasted the Crimson Tide on the glass.

The Gators finished the game with 50 rebounds, 16 of them on the offensive boards. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide had just 35 in the game and often seemed to lack urgency when going for rebounds.

The defense also struggled as well. Alabama allowed 1.269 points per possession, while its offense went through extremely cold stretches.

Midway through the second half, the Gators started pulling away. By the 7:25 mark, UF was up by 12, and the Crimson Tide had nothing in the way of momentum.

Late in the game, the Tide made it close but never close enough. Alabama heads into Saturday’s matchup with Auburn hoping to avoid three losses in a row for the first time this season.

Still work to do

Alabama’s recent slide has made a major impact on its SEC standing. Already, the Crimson Tide lost out on a chance at the league’s regular season title, which Auburn wrapped up.

Now, the Tide is in danger of losing out on a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. A win Wednesday would have wrapped that up, but now things could get dicey down the stretch.

Alabama has another chance to seal the double-bye on Saturday. However, that won’t be easy, as the Crimson Tide will be traveling to Auburn, which it lost to earlier this season in Tuscaloosa.

If UA loses that game, it will need a Missouri loss to clinch. The Tigers face Oklahoma later on Wednesday, before closing the season against Kentucky, and if it wins both and the Tide falls at Auburn, MU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Alabama.

The SEC Tournament begins next Wednesday in Nashville. Alabama will play either Thursday or Friday, depending on the upcoming results.