The men's basketball team is preparing for its game against the Florida Gators tonight after losing a heartbreaker to Mississippi State in overtime Saturday.
Though the Tigers led 38-35 at the half, they were outscored by the Bulldogs 11-1 in overtime, falling 85-75 for their seventh SEC loss. The loss pushed Auburn below .500, making it 1213, 3-7 in the SEC.
Auburn faces a 17-8, 6-4 SEC Gator team in the O'Connell Center in Gainesville tonight at 6.
"They are a typical Florida team, which is a very good passing team," said head coach Jeff Lebo.
Tonight's game is the 156th meeting between the Tigers and the Gators.
Auburn has won 87 of the meetings, holding an advantage over Florida, though Lebo is just 1-5 against the Gators.
Lebo's one victory came in the team's 61-58 win last year in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Tampa.
Tonight's matchup is the fourth in a six game stretch of playing on the road.
The last two road games ended in overtime losses.
The Tigers lost to both of the SEC Western Division's co-leaders, falling to Arkansas Feb. 6 in Fayetteville and Mississippi State Saturday.
"(Mississippi State) played great defense," said sophomore Frankie Sullivan. "You have to give it to them. We didn't execute our sets like we are supposed to. We took some tough shots. We always give ourselves great opportunities to win games, but we don't make the plays to win. A highlight in the loss came from senior DeWayne Reed's game tying layup with 15 seconds remaining in the game, sending the Tigers to overtime. But, Lebo said Reed has had problems with his shooting percentages in league games. "You look at his numbers when he (gets) into conference play, his shooting percentages are around 33 percent from the field and under 30 from three in league play, and that's hurt us," Lebo said. Senior forward Lucas Hargrove had his second straight double-double game, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"The one thing is we talked to him about making quicker decisions with the ball," Lebo said. "When he gets it either being able to immediately put it on the floor, shoot it or pass it. Early in the season, he held it. He pump faked and did a lot of other stuff and held the ball. He is much better when he makes an immediate decision with the ball. He has been making the right decisions for the most part with the ball."
Lebo said that one asset Hargrove brings to the team is his ability to take advantage of the players guarding him. Even with the size advantage of some on the MSU team Hargrove was able to score, an ability that will no doubt prove useful in Gainesville.
"He's the one area when people try to match up with us, they have the hardest time in who they are going to play on him," Lebo said. "That's where we have a little bit of advantage at times. He has a size advantage there."
Lebo also said he plans to capitalize where the Gators have been inconsistent this season. "Where they have not been typical, they have been inconsistent shooting the basketball," Lebo said. "I think that is where they have struggled at times where they have had really bad nights from three. That's when they've lost games."
The last time the Tigers traveled to Gainesville, they were downed by the Gators, 72-56, after five lead changes and six ties.
In recent play, the Gators lost to Xavier (17-7) 76-64 Saturday and to South Carolina (14-9, 5-4 SEC) 77-71 Feb. 10.
Because of this losing streak, Florida is likely to come out tough against Auburn.
Tonight's game will be televised on ESPN and broadcast on Auburn ISP Sports Network. The game can be streamed on www.auburntigers.com and heard on XM Satellite Radio Channel 199, as well as on ESPN360.com. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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