Florida
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.
From Boston to now Miami, the Tartan Army has been marching through the streets of South Florida preparing for the Scotland v. Brazil World Cup game at 6 p.m. Known for their crowd-drawing shenanigans, the term “Tartan Army” has been trending on people’s For You Page, but who are they exactly?
The term “Tartan Army” is a nickname for Scotland’s fan base who support the country’s national team. The concept of “Tartan” comes from the iconic fabric design on kilts and is recognized as a symbol of Scottish identity.
The army gained attention for their rowdy team spirit, but also because some bars in Boston ran out of beer as the city hosted Scotland’s first two games. Now they have arrived in Miami and have been making their presence known.
On Monday, around 8,000 army followers marched from a bar called Ball and Chain to the Marlins’ game, making their presence known throughout South Florida.
Then on Tuesday, the Scotland fans invaded Miami Beach as the beer company Miller Lite presented the fans with a tartan beer barge that read “Restock the Scots.”
With the game against Brazil set for later tonight, the Tartan Army will now flood Miami Stadium with beer, bagpipes and kilts.
The number of fatalities because of Brightline train collisions since 2017 unofficially stands at about 214, including 17 in 2026. The company says that is down 30% compared to 2025.
Nearly halfway through 2026, high-speed Brightline trains in Florida have now been involved in over 200 deaths since 2017, even as the company stresses its ongoing safety improvements.
The number of fatalities because of Brightline train collisions since 2017 unofficially stands at about 214, including 17 in 2026 according to media reports, law firms and third-party observers. The company says incidents, which include any contact a train has with another object, have dropped 30% compared with the same time last year.
The company also said it is in the midst of implementing a series of safety improvements using a $45 million federal grant, plus $10 million from Brightline itself. These include fencing, warning and suicide prevention signs and other installations at 327 crossings from Miami to Cocoa.
“These enhancements to the corridor, combined with our education and enforcement efforts, reflect our commitment to continually prioritizing safety and preventing avoidable incidents,” said Brightline Florida CEO Patrick Goddard in a news release.
It’s been well-established that privately owned Brightline, which runs from Miami to Orlando, has the highest death rate per mile traveled of any railroad in the U.S. As of 2025, that figure was 25 deaths per million miles, or about one person every 13 days.
In comparison, that per-mile number is three times higher than Tri-Rail (8.12 deaths per millions miles) and SunRail (8.04) and nearly six times higher than Amtrak (4.20), according to the Florida-based Meldon Law firm.
Where do most Brightline accidents happen in Florida?
In densely populated South Florida, the trains run at speeds of 79 mph or above, with a top speed of about 125 mph in open areas. The vast majority of fatalities occur in the stretch between Miami and West Palm Beach.
Some are suicides. Some are people in vehicles or on bicycles trying to beat the trains or stuck at a crossing. Others are people simply walking on the tracks, apparently unaware a speeding train approaches.
In two recent incidents, a 68-year-old bicyclist was killed May 26 after he was struck by a Brightline train in Stuart. On May 24, two people died when their car was hit by a train in West Palm Beach even though the crossing gate arms were down.
In urban Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties the trains run at grade level, meaning no elevation above the ground. There are also numerous “quiet zones” along the route where the trains do not sound their horns to avoid disturbing residents and businesses.
Where are the least amount of fatal Brightline train accidents in Florida?
The route from Cocoa to Orlando goes through a more rural area, with fewer crossings and 6-foot fencing along the tracks. In 27 months since that section opened, no fatal accidents have been recorded, according to an Orlando Sentinel analysis.
In the long term, Brightline hopes to connect Orlando with the Tampa Bay area. The timing for that proposed extension is uncertain.
What is Brightline’s financial situation?
As deaths continue to mount, so does debt.
The rail line lost more than $233 million in 2025 despite higher revenues than 2024, according to its annual financial statement, prepared by consulting firm Ernst & Young and released April 30.
“Substantial doubt exists about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the firm wrote. Brightline acknowledged it lacks the money to pay off more than $5 billion in debt and interest on schedule.
At the same time, Brightline passengers’ average fares fell during first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2025, another company report shows, and its trains carried a quarterly record of more than 900,000 passengers.
Credit-rating agencies have said the company needs either much higher fares or ridership to stay solvent.
The Miami-to-Orlando train company made $214 million in 2025, an increase from about $188 million in 2024, the audit shows.
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Chris Persaud contributed to this report.
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
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