Florida outscores Alabama 102 to 88

Friday was a disappointment for Tide fans. The University of Alabama simply could not stop Florida from running up and down the court scoring the basketball in their quarterfinal game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in men's basketball. Florida had 102 points to Bama's 88 points despite Alabama jumping out to an early 8 to 0 lead.

Mark Sears led Alabama in the loss with 22 points. Aaron Estrada contributed 17 points; Nick Pringle scored 12 points; and Grant Nelson had 11 for the Tide.

Alabama's offense was good enough to win; but the Tide's defense let Florida score at will. The Gators had a 30-point lead at one point in the game.

The disappointing Friday night loss ends Alabama's dreams of winning the SEC tournament; but it does not end their season as Alabama is still well positioned for a seed in the 68 team NCAA postseason tournament with a 21 and 11 record overall and a third-place finish in the SEC regular season.

Also on Friday, reports surfaced that the University of Alabama is prepared to give Head Basketball Coach Nate Oats a new contract that will make him one of the highest paid coaches in the country.

Regular season champion in the SEC, Tennessee and second place finisher Kentucky were also both eliminated in their SEC quarterfinals game, meaning that the highest seeded team left in the tournament is number four seed Auburn – who easily blew out South Carolina on Friday.

Auburn will play Mississippi State in one SEC semifinals game Saturday: while Florida plays Texas A&M in the other.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com