Backup guard Riley Kugel also struggled from the floor in going 2-for-10 on his way to five points (his fewest in five games), but Kugel got on the glass with six rebounds. Guard Will Richard made just one of six field-goal attempts at Georgia, but hit all seven of his free throws and passed the 1,000-point milestone. Clayton, who had some big buckets early in both halves to help settle his team in, also had five rebounds and a couple steals. led UF with 21 points, despite going just one of five from distance. He also had team highs of seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and for the sixth time this season did not turn the ball over. Point guard Zyon Pullin extended his double-figure scoring string to a perfect 22-for-22. He was 4-for-7 from the floor for 10 points, three rebounds, plus an assist and steal in 19-plus minutes. Speaking of freshman, backup 6-11 forward Alex Condon (7.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg) had a big hand in the victory, also. Coming into the game Haugh's high-minute game in league play was 14 and he had combined for just four field goals and zero 3s in those 11 SEC games. The X-factor for the Gators - and not just in the second half, but the entire game - was 6-9, 210-pound freshman forward Thomas Haugh (3.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), who came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, including 3-for-4 from the 3-point line, and grab seven rebounds, four on the offensive end, over 26 minutes to help spark the comeback. Georgia shot just 37.5 and turned it over 10 times in the second half, as Florida went on to win for the third time in its last four road games. The second half (after a stern talking-to by Coach Todd Golden) was different. In the win at Georgia, the Gators allowed the Bulldogs to hit their first seven shots (and nine of the first 10) on the way to 60-percent shooting in the first half and a six-point deficit at the break. UF has won seven out of eight because they can score and rebound, not because of anything they've done on the defensive end of the floor with any consistency. They can even dream about getting into the SEC title mix, especially with two games against first-place Alabama over the next two weeks. They opened the league season with a pair of losses (at home against Kentucky, followed by an embarrassing blowout at Ole Miss), but the Gators have redirected their season to the point now Castleton and Kugel combined to make 15 of their 29 field-goal tries, while the rest of the Gators went just 7-for-44 (15.9 percent). UF was led by forward Colin Castleton's 29 points and 10 rebounds, plus a career-high 15 points from freshman guard Riley Kugel. 5 defense and missing all five of its deep ones to take a 52-23 halftime lead. Alabama hit 56 percent in the first half, including 9-for-17 from distance (53 percent), while Florida was shooting 23 percent overall against the nation's No. Miller was joined in double-figure scoring by guards Mark Sears (19 points) and backup guard Jahvon Quinerly (11), but it was the totality of the Bama onslaught - both inside and out - that was the story of this game. Freshman forward Brandon Miller, the 2023 SEC Player of the Year and eventual NBA lottery pick, scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished three assists as the Tide improved to 11-0 in the league with a 10th straight double-digit victory over a conference foe. 8, 2023 at Tuscaloosa, where the 28-point margin of defeat marked the Gators' worst loss in conference play in 26 years. The Tide lead the all-time series 78-70 and have three straight wins, including a 97-69 massacre on Feb. Alabama, since getting trounced on the road at rival Auburn two weeks ago, has won two straight in dominant fashion, beating LSU 109-92 on the road and, following a mid-week bye, destroying Texas A&M 100-75 at home on Saturday. UF is on a three-game winning streak, with victories in three of the four previous road games, as well as seven of eight overall, and is coming off Saturday's 88-82 win at Georgia, where the Gators erased an 11-point first-half deficit for a big road triumph. 6, 2021, it's a chance to see just where they match up against not just the league's best, but one of the best teams in the country in a venue that's become one of the most hostile in college basketball the last couple seasons. For the Gators, ranked for the first time since Dec. 24 Florida and 12th-ranked Alabama meet in a game between two of the hottest teams in the Southeastern Conference, with the Crimson Tide and their locomotive offense currently a full game atop the league standings. . Alabama has lost just once in 27 games at crazed Coleman Coliseum the last two seasons.
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