Fresh off the news of a contract extension for head coach Nate Oats, Alabama basketball will look to capture its third Southeastern Conference tournament title. It’ll start against a familiar opponent.

The three-seeded Crimson Tide (21-10, 13-5 SEC) will play No. 6-seed Florida (22-10, 11-7) inside Bridgestone Arena at approximately 8:30 p.m., or 30 minutes following Texas A&M and Kentucky’s matchup.

Oats has never lost with UA in Nashville, Tennessee (10-0). A key to extending that run will be the health of guards Rylan Griffen (calf) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (concussion). Both are expected to play against the Gators.

Florida and coach Todd Golden enter losing two of its last four, bouncing back to a loss against Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale with an ugly win over Georgia on Wednesday night. Florida and Alabama matchup similarly, with both teams producing offensively (they rank second and 17th, respectively, in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency) with lagging defenses.

The Tide and Gators split the season series. Alabama rallied for a five-point win at Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 21. UF got revenge on March 5 with a 105-87 blowout. Guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 27 points in that matchup and has been on a tear the latter half of the season.

The winner will play either seven-seed Texas A&M or two-seed Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

Pregame

–Griffen will have his minutes limited but will see the court tonight, per the Crimson Tide Sports Network.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].