Alabama blows past Florida, off to best SEC start in 67 years
In one of his closing acts in Coleman Coliseum as Alabama’s freshman phenom, Brandon Miller brought the house down Wednesday night.
Miller drained a three-pointer and soared to the basket for a one-handed dunk as part of an eight-point burst in less than two minutes of the second half against Florida, thwarting a Gators run that was chomping through the huge 29-point lead the Tide built by halftime.
Alabama never trailed during its 97-69 win but Miller’s 15 second-half points, and 24 for the game, ensured it was never close.
The victory improved Alabama’s SEC record to 11-0, the school’s best conference start since it went 14-0 in 1955-56. The 1946-47 season was the only other with a 11-0 start in league play.
Overall, Alabama’s 21-3 record ties its program best through 24 games that was set three times in the mid-1970s and in 1955-56.
Alabama extended its home winning streak to 12 games with three more left in Coleman Coliseum this season. Its 11-game streak, dating to its loss to Texas A&M last season, was tied for the 16th-longest in Division I entering Wednesday.
Wanting his team to play better after an uneven road win over LSU last weekend, Oats’ team came out of the gate with high energy against Florida. It built a 10-point lead within the first six minutes, and made it 20 points under the seven-minute mark of the first half.
Alabama’s advantage dipped to 17 points early in the second half when Florida opened with an 8-2 run, and after a Jahvon Quinerly three-pointer, added an 11-2 run.
Miller’s 15 second-half points and nine from guard Mark Sears kept the Gators’ comeback bid at bay. Sears shot 2-of-3 on three pointers in the second half, although Miller only hit one of his four and overall Alabama’s three-point shooting dipped from 52 percent in the first half (9-of-17) to 35 percent in the second half (6-of-17).
Oats said “nobody was happy” with its LSU win, which he said featured the second-lowest “blue collar” points of the season after its recent loss to Oklahoma. On Wednesday night, Alabama out-rebounded Florida, 45-41, and matched its SEC-high with seven blocks. It also had eight steals, tied for fifth-most on the season.
The Tide has three home games remaining — including its finale March 1 against Auburn — before Miller is widely expected to depart for the NBA draft, where he could be among the first players chosen.
Forward Noah Clowney left midway through the second half and went directly to the locker room after being banged up on a play near the basket. The freshman had nine points on 17 minutes.
Alabama plays next at Auburn on Saturday before traveling to Knoxville next Wednesday to face Tennessee, which was upset by Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.
This story will be updated.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.