2015 SEC Tournament Preview: No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Alabama

Game 3 of the 2015 SEC tournament tips off in Nashville on Thursday, March 12, at 1 p.m. ET on the SEC Network, as the No. 8-seeded Florida Gators take on the No. 9-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.

Florida has arguably been the most disappointing team in college basketball, as the Gators were expected to finish second in the conference and easily stroll into the 2015 NCAA tournament. Finishing the season with a 15-16 (8-10) record, Florida must win the conference tournament if they are to make the Big Dance and need to at least make the finals if they want to sneak into the NIT. It’s crunch time for Billy Donovan and co., which is when his teams tend to play at their best.

Alabama, on the other hand, finished the season about where we expected them to at eighth in the conference with an 18-13 (8-10) record. Anthony Grant was considered to be one of the SEC coaches on the hot seat coming in, but he did a decent job by competing in a much improved conference that boats six NCAA tournament “locks.”

The key to this game will be whichever team can finish from the perimeter. Florida boasts a very talented defense, but Alabama spreads the ball around. Expect a slow, defensive battle that sees the first team to hit 60 points win.

The winner of this game will get the pleasure of facing the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats, who obviously swept these two teams this season. However, the Wildcats should be extremely nervous to face one of these two teams in their first game. Kentucky’s best chance of losing for the remainder of the season will be if Florida can get past Alabama.

Let me repeat. There is no team more dangerous to Kentucky in the 2015 SEC tournament than the Gators. Instead of going into great detail on why Florida is so dangerous to Kentucky, you can read my full article on it here.

I fully expect Florida to win this game based on their superior defense. However, the Crimson Tide have one of the deepest squads in the SEC and are only missing a player to consistently step up. The Gators should come into this one as favorites, but don’t be surprised if this Florida squad underperforms yet again.

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.