GAME NOTES: The eighth-seeded Florida Gators and ninth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide will get their postseasons underway on Thursday afternoon, as the meet in the second round of the 2015 SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena, in Nashville, TN.

The winner of this game gets the unenviable task of taking on top-ranked and undefeated Kentucky in Friday's quarterfinals.

Last year's regular-season and tournament champions, Florida failed to carry over that kind of dominance in 2014-15. A year after posting the first-ever 18-0 season in SEC play, Billy Donovan's Gators struggled to an 8-10 finish, with a 15-16 overall record. The team really had problems in the month of February, winning just two of eight games. Still, Florida has won this event four times, including last year, and is 41-45 all-time in the SEC Tournament.

Alabama has somewhat of a rich history in this event, with a 61-48 all-time record and six tournament crowns to its credit. The last one however, came back in 1991. Anthony Grant's team this season posted a decent 18-13 overall record, but went just 8-10 in conference play. The Crimson Tide were able to enter the postseason off a win, topping Texas A&M on the road, 61-60 last weekend.

This marks the 139th all-time meeting between these two longtime rivals. Alabama owns a 73-65 edge, but Florida has closed the gap with 10 straight wins and 21 victories in the last 24 meetings, overall. The two teams met just once this season, with Florida earning a 52-50 victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 27.

Grant has had to mix things up with the loss of talented guard Ricky Tarrant (13.1 ppg) in late January due to injury. That has certainly left a big hole in Alabama's arsenal. It's a good thing the team is still getting great play from Levi Randolph. The senior guard shoots .486 from the floor and tops the team with 15.2 ppg. Randolph was named an All-SEC Second-Team member for his efforts. Providing some support at the offensive end for Alabama is fellow senior guard Rodney Cooper, who comes in at 10.5 ppg. The team is also without sophomore forward Shannon Hale (8.2 ppg), who broke his foot late in February.

With offensive weapons dwindling, Alabama will need to rely on its tough defense even more in the postseason. The Crimson Tide enter the tournament allowing just 63.9 ppg on .414 shooting.

The defending SEC Tournament champs have certainly had an up and down season, reflected in the team's sub par record. By no means an offensive juggernaut, Florida comes in averaging just 64.0 ppg on a modest .436 shooting. The defensive effort has been much more consistent, with UF limiting foes to just 59.9 ppg and .408 efficiency.

UF is led into the postseason by forward Dorian Finney-Smith (13.1 ppg) and guard Michael Frazier II (12.8 ppg), however, both have missed time on the floor this year. Junior guard Eli Carter is third on the scoring chart at 8.7 ppg, while sophomore guard Kasey Hill has proved to be a far better distributor (4.6 apg) than scoring threat (7.3 ppg).

This should be another defensive battle. Randolph is a dynamic player, but the Tide may not have the supporting cast to advance in this event.