The Good News That Followed Alabama Basketball’s Loss to Florida
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 7 Alabama men’s basketball fell to No. 5 Florida 99-94 at home on Wednesday night. It was the Crimson Tide’s final home game of the regular season and Senior Night for five players.
And while it’s disappointing that these five seniors didn’t get the sendoff they had hoped for in Coleman Coliseum, some good news occurred for Alabama a bit after Wednesday’s game ended.
During the postgame press conferences, Oklahoma completed a 96-84 home upset over No. 15 Missouri. Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears led his team to victory with a dominant 31-point performance.
So why is this good for Alabama? Well, Missouri came into Wednesday with the No. 5 spot in the SEC standings and was a game behind the Crimson Tide and Tennessee. The Tigers’ loss prevented them from a shot at gaining one of the top-4 seeds as only one matchup remains before the conference tournament.
In other words, Alabama clinched one of the top-4 seeds, meaning it will have a double by for the SEC Tournament next week. Instead of playing next Thursday, head coach Nate Oats and company will play on Friday.
Alabama came into Wednesday night on the wrong side of a tiebreaker for the No. 2 spot in standings with Florida and the loss pushed the Tide into the third-seed. The win for the Gators officially gives them that runner-up spot behind Auburn.
Oddly enough, Tennessee was also upset on Wednesday night as it fell to Ole Miss 78-76 on the road. Rebels forward Jaemyn Brakefield scored 19 points off the bench but three other players finished in double-figures to help get the win.
The Volunteers are now one game behind the Crimson Tide and if they beat South Carolina on Saturday and Alabama falls to Auburn that day, Tennessee will takeover the three-seed in the SEC Tournament.
As previously stated, even if these events occur, Alabama will still have the double-bye.
