By the end of No. 3 Florida’s 78-69 win over Alabama on Saturday coach Billy Donovan didn’t need many words to describe his team’s defense.
“I thought we were bad the whole game,” Donovan grumbled.
Despite the Gators’ (21-2, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) nine-point victory, they struggled to contain the Crimson Tide’s (9-14, 3-7 SEC) Trevor Releford, whose 25 points were the most against Florida since Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins dropped 26 in the O’Connell Center on Dec. 10.
Releford’s 16 first-half points helped Bama lead by seven with 5:49 left in the first half, which was the biggest lead by a visiting Florida opponent since Wiggins and his Jayhawks also led by seven in the first half against the Gators.
Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Donovan said he wanted to focus on two things to prevent an upset loss at home, where Florida has now won 29 straight.
“The thing I was most concerned about going into the game was two things: Releford, and obviously my concern didn’t do too much because the guy had 25, and the other concern I had was the three-point line,” Donovan said.
The Gators gave up five threes to the Crimson Tide in the first half, which was the most they have surrendered in the first 20 minutes since visiting Auburn on Jan. 18.
The only reason Florida walked off the court at the half tied with Alabama at 36 was because senior Will Yeguete scored six points in just more than two minutes to close out the half.
Senior Scottie Wilbekin said the Gators struggled out of the gate because they let off the gas against the Crimson Tide, which Wilbekin said gave its best effort because it was facing a top-five team.
Wilbekin added that Florida didn’t help its cause any by letting Releford control the floor by hitting 4 of 6 threes in the game.
“We let him get open,” the point guard said. “He made some tough ones, but for the threes we lost him and he capitalized. Teams have good nights and their record doesn’t always show how good they are. You can’t judge a team by its record all the time.”
Florida, which extended its winning streak to 15 games Saturday, made up for its poor defensive showing by stepping up on offense.
All five of the squad’s starters finished with double-digit points for the first time since defeating Middle Tennessee State 79-59 on Nov. 21, 2013.
Wilbekin led his team with 16, but fellow senior Casey Prather was not too far behind.
The 6-foot-6 forward, who hasn’t scored double digits since Jan. 30 against Mississippi State, played like he did earlier in the season by hitting 7 of 11 shots to finish the game with 15 points.
Donovan said Prather’s left ankle injury almost took the senior out of the lineup. Prather has a difficult time mentally dealing with injuries because anything that limits his full potential frustrates him, Donovan added.
But the 18th-year coach left the decision up to Prather, and the senior said he could go.
“When he knows he can do things physically, it just adds to his confidence,” Donovan said. “It’s got nothing to do with him making shots.
“It’s got to do with him moving. When he can’t move like he wants to move, I think he knows he’s putting our team in jeopardy. And I think that eats him alive and kills him.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Scottie Wilbekin drives the ball down the court during Florida’s 78-69 win against Alabama on Saturday in the O’Connell Center. Wilbekin and the Florida defense allowed Alabama to shoot 55 percent from the floor.
