The surging Crimson Tide is rolling into the O’Connell Center tonight.
Coming off two hard-fought Southeastern Conference victories over No. 13 Kentucky and Georgia, Alabama and its momentum offer a tough challenge for Florida.
The Gators will again find themselves on the short end of the height scale, but they are virtually even with the Tide with respect to rebounding. Florida averages 37.6 boards per contest, while Alabama averages 37.8.
“Our goal, rebounding-wise, is to neutralize that,” coach Amanda Butler said. “It’s something that we don’t feel like we’re weak at, but it’s maybe not a strength either.”
The same could be said for Alabama. Both the Gators and the Crimson Tide are outrebounded, on average, per game this season. But does that mean each team’s rebounding effort will neutralize the other’s?
“Not necessarily,” Butler said. “That’s what we’re watching and understanding. It’s not all about heights and being similar positionally. They’ve got some kids that are playing really well. Freshman of the week Ashley Williams, she’s playing with a ton of heart, a ton of fire. That’s what a whole lot of rebounding is. Once you take [6-foot-6] versus 6-foot out of it, what bridges the gap is how hard you’re going to go.”
Florida is hoping for a repeat performance from its last game against Auburn — Alabama’s notorious intrastate rival — in which it scored 87 points and went 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in the first half.
However, defense remains the top priority for Butler.
“They’re a team that is very, very capable of scoring a lot of points,” she said. “We matchup with each other pretty well. Defense is going to factor into the game plan probably more, percentage wise, than offense.”
Just because Alabama is capable of scoring points does not necessarily mean that it does. Alabama is last in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging only 65.8 points per game. Florida’s 78.1 per contest is good for fourth best in the SEC. However, the Tide allows 69.6 points per contest, while the Gators give up 70.1 — 12th and 13th in the conference, respectively.
“They play a lot of zone, and we’re going to be at home,” Butler said. “Those are two factors that we have to make important. Alabama’s playing great ball right now. By beating Kentucky at Kentucky and then beating Georgia, they’re probably playing as confidently as anyone in the league right now.”
Because of Alabama’s momentum, the fact that Florida plays at home might be the most crucial factor for the Gators’ success tonight.
“I think their place is incredibly hard to play in,” Butler said of Alabama’s Foster Auditorium. “It’s a very unique building, there’s no other arena like it in the conference. They play very, very well there. I’m very happy that we’re at home on Thursday.”
Tonight’s game offers a very realistic opportunity for Florida to outrebound its opponent. Although the Gators have the worst rebounding margin in the SEC (-3.7), the Crimson Tide is a not-much-better 13th in the conference with a margin of -1.9. Florida and Alabama are the only schools in the SEC with negative rebounding margins.
“We want to neutralize (the rebounding battle) because that’s just the way we play best,” Butler said. “Is it a rebounding war I think we can win? I do think that we can, but they can just as easily win it as well, and we can’t let that be a factor.”
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Amanda Butler calls a play during Florida’s 68-62 loss against Georgia on Jan. 19 in the O’Connell Center.
