Florida

Florida downs No. 19 Alabama to reach SEC semifinals

Published

2 months ago

March 16, 2024

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Florida downs No. 19 Alabama to reach SEC semifinals

By MARK McGEE

Associated Press

NASHVILLE — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points and sixth-seeded Florida routed No. 19 Alabama 102-88 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

With losses by regular-season champ Tennessee and No. 2 seed Kentucky earlier Friday, this marked the first time the SEC’s top three seeds all lost their tournament openers since 1983. That tournament was played in Birmingham, Alabama, and Georgia won the title and wound up reaching the Final Four.

Zyon Pullin added 19 points, Tyrese Samuel had 18, Alex Condon scored 12 and Will Richard had 10 for Florida (23-10). The Gators will face No. 7 seed Texas A&M, a 97-87 winner over ninth-ranked Kentucky, in the semifinals Saturday.

This is Florida’s first berth in the semifinals since 2019 and second since winning its last SEC tournament title in 2014. The Gators have won this tournament four times.

“Alabama’s a great team, but we beat them pretty comfortably tonight and I thought it was a great effort from our group,” Florida coach Todd Golden said.

Alabama (21-11) came in having won a SEC regular-season title and tournament championship two of the past three years under coach Nate Oats. Now the Crimson Tide is heading home early to start preparing for Sunday’s NCAA Tournament bracket announcement.

Mark Sears led Alabama with 22 points. Aaron Estrada added 17, Nick Pringle finished with 12 and Grant Nelson had 11.

The Crimson Tide scored the first eight points. Florida tied it up at 17 and again at 31. Then the Gators seized control with a 21-2 run to finish the half and take a 48-33 lead into the locker room.

“We’ve got to be better,” Oats said. “I’ve got to do a better job. Maybe I probably should’ve called a timeout in the middle of that six minutes there at the end of the half.”

The Gators started the second half where they left off, scoring the first four points and avoiding another slow start.

“Obviously a concerning start going down 8-0 in the first two minutes,” Golden said of the Gators’ slow start. “But after that, I thought we played fantastic the rest of the way.”

Florida led by as much as 82-58 on its way to scoring 100 points against Alabama for a second straight game between the teams.

Oats said his players have to decide how bad they want to win the NCAA tournament, which means playing defense for a full 40 minutes.

“You decide to take 24 minutes off on the defensive end, it’s going to be hard to beat anybody in the NCAA tournament,” Oats said.

BIG PICTURE

Florida: The Gators split during the regular season with Alabama, losing 98-93 in overtime on the road and winning 105-87 in Gainesville. The Gators advanced to the quarterfinals with an 85-80 victory over Georgia in the opening round. … They had a big edge at the free throw line, knocking down 31 of 36 compared to 16 of 23 for Alabama.

Alabama: Oats now is 7-2 in SEC tournament games. He has signed an extension that will go to the Board of Regents next week. … Latrell Wrightsell, in his second game after returning from a concussion, was 0 for 4 from 3-point range. Ryland Griffen, who missed the last regular-season game with a strained calf, went 1 of 5.

UP NEXT

Florida lost 67-66 at Texas A&M during the regular season.

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Florida

Florida Makes NCAA Baseball Tournament, Plays At Stillwater Regional – ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF

Published

3 hours ago

May 27, 2024

Press Room

Florida Makes NCAA Baseball Tournament, Plays At Stillwater Regional – ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF

Florida can thank its No. 1 strength of schedule for receiving an invite Monday to its 16th consecutive NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

The Gators (28-27) will play in the Stillwater (Okla.) Regional as a three seed starting at 3 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN+). They will open against Big Ten Tournament champion Nebraska (39-20), the regional second seed. Host Oklahoma State (40-17), the 11th national seed, plays four seed Niagara (38-15) at 7 p.m.

For the – , the Gators are NCAA Tournament bound!#GoGators pic.twitter.com/xHW89d3VPF
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 27, 2024
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It’s Florida’s 39th tournament appearance and the 16 in a row, all under coach Kevin O’Sullivan, is the second longest streak in the nation behind Vanderbilt’s 18. It’s just the third time the Gators will travel for a regional in O’Sullivan’s tenure.

Division I Baseball Committee Chairman Matt Hogue said the committee took strength of schedule as a key aspect in selecting the Gators, one of the 33-at-large teams.

“We did spend a great deal of time considering Florida and their overall resume, and again, I think you bring up a great issue and a great question when you do have teams from different places, different conferences, it’s difficult,” Hogue said in an ESPN interview.

“One of the key aspects for Florida was that strength of schedule. I think, number one at overall strength of schedule. Number 13 at non-conference strength of schedule. That was something that mattered a lot through all of the conversations.”

A record 11 SEC teams (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt) made the 64-team, double-elimination tourney.

O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., is home for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team, which hosts a regional this weekend. [NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK]

The winner of the Stillwater Regional plays the winner of the Clemson Regional, which features the host Tigers (41-14), the sixth national seed, Vanderbilt (38-21), Coastal Carolina (34-23) and High Point, N.C. (34-25), in the best-of-three Super Regional. The winner there advances to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., beginning June 14.

Headed to Stillwater ⏭
🗞 https://t.co/1iF16ViDCS | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/hPAPrjHNHQ
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 27, 2024

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Florida

Found in Florida: Have you seen me?

Published

10 hours ago

May 27, 2024

Press Room

I stand painted, a delicious treat,

A sugary circle, ready to eat.

Runners and cyclists admire my glaze,

On a path where many spend their days.

Though I’m not real, a tempting sight,

I mark a spot where murals ignite.

Images on display, bringing much glee,

Who can guess where you’ll find me?

Find out if you are correct by clicking here.

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SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 rocket this morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Published

18 hours ago

May 27, 2024

Press Room

SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 rocket this morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida

It’s launch morning!

SpaceX is planning a 7:30 a.m. EDT Memorial Day Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Launch Complex 40. Traveling in a southeast trajectory, the Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the next batch of 23 Starlink satellites to orbit.

When is the next Florida rocket launch? Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule in Florida

After eight and a half minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9 booster will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. No local sonic booms are expected.

According to the 45th Weather Squadron, weather conditions for the launch window are predicted to be 90-95% favorable.

Check back 90 minutes prior to liftoff for LIVE updates!

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.

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