Auburn men’s basketball has a 10-game win streak on the line on Saturday when the No. 9 Tigers (13-1, 2-0 SEC) host the Florida Gators (9-4, 0-1 SEC).
Despite holding an 84-79 lead in the series, which dates back to 1927, Auburn has dropped 20 of the last 23 contests against the Gators, including a 74-59 defeat at Auburn Arena last season.
Only one of Bruce Pearl’s Auburn teams has been able to defeat Florida. The 2018-2019 team, which won the SEC Tournament and made the Final Four, defeated Florida twice. No other Auburn team under Bruce Pearl has been able to earn a victory against the Gators.
“Florida is the team that we’ve beaten the least since I’ve been at Auburn,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “Billy Donovan early on and now Coach [Mike] White have done a great job against us.”
Auburn is one of two SEC teams, along with Alabama, to currently stand at 2-0 in conference play. The Tigers defeated LSU and South Carolina to reach that mark.
After having their scheduled SEC opener against Ole Miss postponed, the Gators started their conference slate off with a home game against Alabama on Wednesday. Despite holding a three-point halftime lead, Florida lost to the Crimson Tide, 83-70.
“They’re probably coming up here pretty pissed off about their loss,” Pearl said. “They’ve got to be disappointed, but knowing they’ve got a chance to get to feeling better about themselves if they can come up here and get this one.”
Despite Florida’s inferior record, the Gators earned some quality non-conference victories, including victories over Florida State and Ohio State.
“Florida has one of the best non-conference wins in our league over Ohio State,” Pearl said. “That is an Ohio State team that’s beaten the number two team in the country, Duke. Obviously, they're very, very capable.”
The Gators are led by senior forward Colin Castleton, who leads the Gators in scoring, rebounds, and blocks. Castleton ranks eighth in the SEC with 15.1 points per game, second with 9.2 rebounds per game, second with 2.4 blocks per game, and third in field goal percentage, making 52.6% of his shots.
“The kid Castleton is first-team All-SEC preseason and he’s not disappointed. He’s had a great year,” Pearl said. “I think he’s one of the top shot blockers in our league, they run a lot of good stuff for him, he draws fouls like crazy. He’s really physical. He provides effort, energy, and confidence to their team.”
The game is expected to be a matchup of two tough defensive teams. Florida allows a mere 61.7 points per game, which is tied for 42nd nationally and tied for fourth in the SEC. Auburn allows 64.3 points per game and has only allowed two opponents to reach 70 points this season.
The Gators are 15th nationally in blocks, averaging 5.8 per game. Auburn is first in that statistic with 8.1 blocks per game. Florida also forces 16.9 turnovers per game, which is 27th nationally and includes 9.5 steals each game, which is 25th.
“Florida is another really good defensive team,” Pearl said. “They force turnovers, they make it difficult, they press, so it’ll be a good matchup.”
Saturday’s game, which will be the first of two between the Tigers and Gators this season, will tip-off at Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. CST and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
