Andrew Nembhard made the right choice.
The UF guard had Alabama forward Donta Hall’s hands in his face near the free-throw line, where he was getting ready to shoot the ball.
Instead, Nembhard passed up the shot, drove to the right and lofted the ball up for a successful floater, giving his team a 12-point advantage late in the first half against the Crimson Tide.
Those types of shots allowed Florida to get more balance from its offense in the past couple of games, and that showed in its 71-53 win over Alabama on Saturday.
The Gators’ first six field goals of the game were from inside the three-point arc, and three of those shots were from Nembhard.
The freshman made all nine of his attempts on Saturday, largely due to his shot selection.
He scored 12 of his 21 points in the paint, and his two made three pointers were uncontested.
Nembhard’s smart shot-taking mirrored the Gators’ offense against the Crimson Tide.
Florida is a team that averages 25.4 three-point attempts per game, but when the three pointers didn’t fall in the first half against Alabama — it went 4 of 12 for the period — Florida started working the ball to the interior. And despite shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, the Gators made over half of their shots during that span.
They took fewer three-point shots (7) after the halftime break and shot 54.5 percent in the second half.
Guard KeVaughn Allen was 5 of 9 from the field with 13 points, and all but one of his baskets (a contested three-pointer in the first half) were either layups or mid-range jumpers.
Center Kevarrius Hayes and forward Keyontae Johnson were also efficient in the post. Hayes scored six of his nine points in the paint, and Johnson notched a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The Gators’ ability to both push in transition and attack the rim contributed to them outscoring the Tide 6-0 in fastbreak points and 36-24 in points in the paint.
The first UF transition score was just three minutes into the game. Nembhard stole the ball from Alabama guard Dazon Ingram and drove to the basket for an easy layup.
He followed that up midway through the first half with another transition layup. That time, Allen found Nembhard on the fastbreak after guard Jalen Hudson came up with the ball off an Alabama turnover.
There were several plays like that, where the Gators’ aggression on defense led to points on the offensive end (they scored 11 points off turnovers).
They would’ve normally pulled up from deep in those situations.
But in a game where its defense created numerous opportunities for its offense, Florida made the smart plays. And those plays ultimately allowed it to reach its highest point total since Jan. 30, when it scored 90 in an overtime win over Ole Miss.
Florida’s performance comes at a pivotal point in the year as postseason implications make each game more and more important.
NCAA Tournament projections have the Gators outside the top 68. But most bracketology experts still give Florida a slight chance to make the tournament.
ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has Florida as the top team in his “First Four Out.”
But UF’s convincing win over Alabama, a team that is pegged to make the tournament, certainly helped its resume.
Follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames and contact her at athames@alligator.org.
Florida guard Andrew Nembhard scored nine points against Vanderbilt on Wednesday. He scored a career-high 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting against Alabama on Saturday.
