TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 7 Alabama men’s basketball fell to No. 5 Florida 99-94 at home on Wednesday night. It was the Crimson Tide’s final home game of the regular season and Senior Night for five players.

The loss is Alabama’s fourth in the last six games. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats knew the final seven games––all of which were against ranked opponents––would be an absolute gauntlet of a stretch and his team has struggled the last couple of weeks.

“We knew it was going to be a tough stretch to close,” Oats said during the postgame press conference. “I thought we’d do a little better. I thought we’d at least play with more effort, It’s not being panicked about losing, it’s more concerning how we lost.

“Getting out-rebounded by 15 and just not getting the 50-50 balls. I think Florida had more pop and more energy than us. And that’s concerning to me.”

The Crimson Tide was bullied by the Gators all evening on the glass as Florida won 50-35. 16 of which were on the offensive end, leading to 19 second-chance points. Alabama also allowed 52 points in the paint.

Throughout the cold stretch, Alabama has gone from the AP Top 25’s No. 2 team in the nation, then to No. 4, then to No. 6 and the Tide could move in the wrong direction from its current No. 7 rank.

Alabama has also gone from being tied with Auburn for the No. 1 spot in the SEC standings and is now No. 3 after the loss to Florida. The Crimson Tide were once a solidified one-seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but now sit at a No. 2 seed in bracketology.

“We’re going to have to challenge some of these guys,” Oats said. “See if it was breakdowns. Some of the rebounds were breakdowns. Some of these we had guys leaking, not getting in the mix. They’re going to have to determine whether they want to make some tough plays or not. I didn’t think we made too many tough plays tonight.”

Nevertheless, there was some good to come out of Wednesday’s loss for Alabama, as Oklahoma’s win over Missouri clinched the Crimson Tide the double bye for the SEC Tournament.