NEW ORLEANS— Brad Beal and Erik Murphy shared a similar wish in the final seconds of the Gators’ opening Southeastern Conference Tournament game.
As Alabama guard Trevor Lacey released his team’s last chance to push Florida into overtime — a long 3-point attempt from the right wing — both Gators prayed his shot wouldn’t end up like how 54.5 percent of the Crimson Tide’s attempts did earlier in Friday’s game.
“Don’t go in,” Murphy thought as he tried to find someone to block out.
Beal, who scored a team-high 16 points, was playing defense on Lacey and trying to do his best to contest the three without fouling.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t go in, because I was guarding him at the time,” Beal said.
His fears only ended as time expired, and the 3-pointer clanged off the front of the rim.
Fourth-seeded Florida escaped New Orleans Arena with a 66-63 win and will now play No. 1-seed Kentucky — the nation’s top-ranked team — Saturday at noon.
Though the Gators snapped a three-game losing streak with their victory against the Crimson Tide, they go into a third meeting with the Wildcats this season sporting a thin and recently porous defense.
Florida has now allowed its last four opponents to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor. In 29 previous games this season, the Gators permitted just two teams to make at least half of their shots.
“The problem was on the defensive end of the floor,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “We would get a stop and we wouldn't come down with the ball, wouldn't come down with the rebound.”
The Gators were dominated inside by the Crimson Tide senior JaMychal Green — a 6-foot-8 forward who was suspended for Florida’s nine-point win against Alabama on Feb. 14.
Facing the Gators for the first time this season, Green notched a game-high 22 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to lead a 38-20 scoring advantage in the paint for the Crimson Tide. Alabama also out-rebounded Florida 32-27.
“He was really good at getting it in inside position and playing his game,” Gators center Patric Young said. “That’s the first time I think I really matched up against him, so I didn’t know what to expect. He’s pretty aggressive and he’s pretty athletic, a quick guy as well. I didn’t know he had all those tools in his arsenal.”
While Florida was able to survive Alabama’s 24-of-45 shooting performance by making just enough 3-pointers, Young said the Gators will need to rely on a better defensive effort if they want to challenge the Wildcats.
In the Florida’s two previous losses to Kentucky, the Wildcats have shot a combined 60-for-114 from the field and 14-of-27 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“If we don’t play defense, we’re not going to win the game,” Young said. “That goes for any game, but especially a team like that with so many weapons, especially with all their guys playing at such a high level. If we don’t play great defense, we don’t stand a chance.”
Led by a game-high 22 points from Anthony Davis — the SEC’s Player, Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year — Kentucky beat Florida 74-59 last Sunday in Gainesville.
Though Young nearly matched Davis with 21 points, he said the Wildcats’ forward is constantly adding wrinkles to his own repertoire of post moves and alley-oop dunks. Davis even stepped out for a pair of 3-pointers in his last matchup with the Gators and made one.
“We’ve just got to come out with that mindset,” Young said. “That we’re going to lock these guys down.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Alabama forward JaMychal Green (1) shoots over Florida's Erik Murphy (33) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Friday, March 9, 2012.
