The No. 6 Florida Gators delivered No. 1 Auburn its first SEC loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Auburn 90-81 at Neville Arena and snapping the Tigers 14-game win streak.
“I mean, they just came in here like they had to win it,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl about Florida’s efforts. “That's how they played their possessions. And they played harder. They played better. They played more desperately.”
Auburn trailed by 10 at halftime as the Gators finished the half on a 14-2 run. Florida’s 48 first-half points were the second-most Auburn has allowed in the first half. Additionally, the Gator’s 90 points were the most scored by an opponent at Neville Arena since 2021.
Led by the efforts of Walter Clayton Jr., who had a team-high 19 points, Florida started the second half on a 20-9 run and built up a 21-point lead. The Gators finished the night 31-of-64 from the field and 13-of-33 from three.
Miles Kelly led the Tigers in scoring with 22 points, followed by Johni Broome 18 and Tahaad Pettiford with 14. Overall, Auburn went 30-for-70 from the field and 7-for-22 from behind the 3-point line.
Here’s a look at the number’s from Auburn’s loss to Florida:
- Florida finished the night with 13 made shots from behind-the-arc – the most 3-pointers a team has made against the Tigers this season. Clayton Jr. made four of the Gator’s shots from deep, and Urban Klavzar followed with three 3-pointers on three attempts.
- Auburn went 14-for-12 (61%) from the free throw line while Florida shot 15-for-18 (83%) from the charity stripe. Auburn’s last two opponents – Oklahoma and Florida – have shot a combined 42-of-47 (89.4%) at the free throw line against the Tigers. IN those two games, Auburn has combined to shoot 69.6% from the charity stripe.
- Auburn won the turnover battle 8-12 but managed just 13 points off turnovers. The Gators managed 17. Florida also dominated in transition, racking up 14 fast break points compared to just three from the Tigers.
- The Gators finished the night with 22 assists, marking the most assists Auburn has allowed since Purdue (13). The Tigers finished with 16 assists.
- Both teams finished with 40 rebounds, with Florida out rebounding Auburn on the defensive glass 29-25 and Auburn claiming the offensive boards 15-11. The Tigers finished with 22 second-chance points, and Florida finished with 15.
- Auburn struggled at the rim, making 13-of-28 layups and going 23-for-48 from inside-the-paint.
Up next, the Tigers hit the road for a two-game stretch where they will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores and in-state rival No. 3 Alabama.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
