By Chris DePew
TideFans.com staff
Feb. 13, 2016
Where to watch: Alabama (14-9, 5-6 SEC) at Florida (16-8, 7-4) – 4:30 p.m. Central today, O’Connell Center, SEC Network
Who to watch: Jimmie Taylor. Alabama’s starting center has been settling for role player minutes lately because of persistent foul troubles. It should not still be such an issue more than halfway through his junior year, and it can’t afford to be today if the Crimson Tide hopes to pull off a rare upset in Gainesville. Taylor will be counted on to contain Gators center John Egbunu, who averages 10.9 points per game and shoots 58 percent from the field. In his last game against Ole Miss, Egbunu had 14 points and 10 rebounds. If there’s hope, it comes from Taylor’s last game against Florida in the 2015 SEC tournament. In that second-round game, Taylor had 15 points and played 32 minutes while committing just one foul.
What to watch for: Whether the Tide can avoid getting swamped in the shadow of The Swamp. Alabama’s three wins in a row is the longest current streak in the SEC. But plenty of Tide teams with more talent have met with disaster in the O-Dome. Alabama has lost 10 straight games at Florida, with the last victory coming in 1995. And this year the Gators are 12-1 in their own house, including all six SEC games to date. The Gators can be plodding on offense away from home, but in their last five home games they’ve finished with 81, 95, 88, 87 and 77 points. Bama doesn’t have the firepower to match that and can’t afford to let Florida get on an extended run.
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