Auburn downs Florida to improve to 14-1

Auburn prolonged its winning streak to 11 games Saturday night after an 85-73 win over the Florida Gators. 

This marks Auburn’s third win in the last sixteen meetings against Florida. 

Jabari Smith opened the game hot with Auburn’s first four points as Florida tried to adjust to a rowdy Auburn Arena. Florida quickly turned its attention to Smith, but that only opened the paint for Walker Kessler to take over in the early minutes. 

Allen Flanigan, who was sidelined against South Carolina, entered the game within the first four minutes after missing the previous game due to medical reasons.  

Also coming in off the bench, Jaylin Williams provided a spark with six straight points for the Tigers, including a 3-pointer where he was also fouled. 

Auburn connected on nine of its first 13 shots, including seven in a row to give the Tigers a 13-point cushion once Florida head coach Mike White called his first timeout. 

Florida responded, however, with a run of six unanswered points to cut the lead to seven. 

As the Gators made their way back into the game, Smith picked up his second foul. The momentum appeared to be shifting toward Florida as the Auburn fans became growingly frustrated with Auburn’s offense and a few calls from the officials, but Wendell Green Jr. sunk a deep three to win back the momentum and get Auburn fans loud again before halftime. 

The Tigers entered the break with a 39-30 lead and though turnovers were again a problem for Auburn, balanced scoring and swallowing defense allowed Auburn to hold the lead. 

Kessler, averaging four blocks a game, only had one block at the half, but as a team Auburn had six. 

Smith, Kessler and Zep Jasper quickly picked up their third fouls of the game to open the second half. 

Head coach Bruce Pearl was not happy with the way Auburn defended throughout the game. 

“We got to do a better job of defending without fouling,” Pearl said. 

With the Auburn frontcourt in foul trouble, Florida’s Colin Castleton, the Gators’ best player, began to take over. With the Auburn defenders playing safe in order not to pick up another foul, Castleton went to work as Florida made it a one-point game. 

Another issue that carried into the second half was the careless turnovers. Within the first four minutes of the second half, Auburn had already given the ball away three times, allowing Florida to get back in the game. 

As Florida mounted a comeback, Auburn turned to Jaylin Williams, the junior forward, for offense. Williams tallied 14 points in the game which marks his season high.  

Whenever Florida seemed destined to take the lead Auburn always had a response, and thanks to the timely scoring of Green, Smith and K.D. Johnson, Auburn was able to grow its lead back to double digits late in the game. 

Smith knocked down one three right as he came back into the game to stop a Florida run. His teammates were not at all surprised to see him hit a clutch shot. 

“We know Jabari hits that shot nine times out of ten,” Williams said. 

Pearl had high praise for Johnson, who led Auburn in scoring with 23 points. Johnson has been in a rut lately — only scoring two points against South Carolina. Pearl, however, gave a voice of confidence for the transfer.  

“He’s a dangerous man,” Pearl said. “He just is.” 

As Auburn began hitting shots again, Florida went cold — hitting just two of its last 11 shots. 

The final score ended 85-73 in favor of the Tigers, notching Auburn its 11th straight win. 

Auburn has a date with rival Alabama next on the schedule. The Crimson Tide, 11-4, recently fell to Missouri by a score of 92-86. 

The game will take place at 8 p.m. CST in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 11 and will be broadcast on ESPN. 

Pearl knows it will not be an easy task to defeat Alabama in Coleman Coliseum — a place where Auburn has won only two of the last 10 times it has played there. 

“They’re a dangerous team,” Pearl said of Alabama.