Gameday: Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide

Location: Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, AL [Capacity: 15,316]
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPNU
Online: ESPN360

Odds: Florida +2.5, O/U 128.5

KEEP AN EYE ON…
-The dynamic backcourt of…sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton who are averaging 33.7 points and 8.4 assists per game in SEC play this season.
– Speaking of Walker and Boynton…they have hit 40 of the Gators’ 49 treys in SEC play, and Walker is shooting 55.8 percent (24-of-43) from downtown in conference action.
– Junior forward Alex Tyus…who is dominating the front court, averaging 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last 12 contests. He has hit double figures in 12 straight games and scored 15+ in seven of those 12.
– Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…Florida is 10-1 when the redshirt junior transfer center does so.
– Alabama sophomore forward JaMychal Green leads the team with 7.2 boards per game while also contributing 14.6 points. Senior guard Mikhail Torrance is tops on the team with 15.1 points per game.

STREAKS:
– Alabama leads the all-time series against Florida 73-56; however, the Gators have prevailed in 14 of the last 17 meetings.
– The Gators are 15-5 against the Crimson Tide under head coach Billy Donovan and won the last time they visited Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 8, 2008.
– Donovan’s long-time assistant, Anthony Grant, is Alabama’s new head coach; the two will be going head-to-head for the first time.
– The Gators ended a four-game winning streak on Sunday with a loss to No. 14 Tennessee. It was their longest in SEC play since 2007.
– Allowing 95 and 89 points to its first to SEC opponents, the Gators have held teams to 62.4 points per game over the last five. Florida is 10-1 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less and 120-2 all-time under Donovan.
– The Gators have hit at least one three-pointer In 599 consecutive games.
– The Crimson Tide have upset wins over then-No. 15 Michigan and then-No. 23 Mississippi State this season.
– As a team, Alabama is averaging 68.4 points per game while holding opponents to just 31.7 percent shooting from three-point range.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide preview after the jump!

The Florida Gators (15-6, 4-3 SEC) took a four-game winning streak into Knoxville, TN, and fell short of extending it to give in a crushing loss to the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers. Head coach Billy Donovan‘s team looks to rebound as it invades Tuscaloosa, AL, to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (13-8, 3-4 SEC).

Alabama head coach Anthony Grant, an assistant under Donovan for 13 years, has done a great job as a first-year coach in the Southeastern Conference. He will look to stifle the Gators’ offense, just as Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl did to sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton. Walker and Boynton had their worst performance in conference play Sunday against the Volunteers, combining to go 5-of-20 for 13 points and 1-for-11 from downtown.

Junior forwards Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons have continued stepping up for Florida, which will need solid performances all around to take down Grant’s Alabama team Thursday night.