For the second straight game, Florida played a team squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. On Tuesday, they lost at Tennessee because of their inability to make shots and close the gap down the stretch. That loss closed the gap in the SEC standings and put Alabama within a game of the Gators. So on Saturday Alabama arrived in Gainesville with a chance to be tied for 1st in the SEC with a win and also get a signature win for their tournament resume. But the Gators were too strong at home and improved to 14-0 at home this season.

Gator F Erik Murphy

Erik Murphy had 15 points and 8 rebounds for Florida and took advantage of a smaller defender all afternoon. Casey Prather had all 10 points of the bench for the Gators and was equally effective on the defensive end of the floor and finished with 9 rebounds. Struggling…