As the Tigers and Gators prepare for a Final Four rematch inside the Alamo Dome in just over two days, the Auburn Plainsman rewinds back to the regular season top-10 showdown inside of Neville Arena this past February in which Florida snapped No. 1 Auburn’s 14 game win streak.
At the hands of the No. 6 Florida Gators and familiar foe Todd Golden, No. 1 Auburn fell 90-81 in the Gators first road win against AP No. 1 ever and the Tigers’ first loss inside of Neville Arena since last February ending a 12 game home win streak which was tied for ninth nationally.
“They handed it to us,” head coach Bruce Pearl said following the loss. “They were more physical, they were more aggressive. And as a result, they were more successful.”
The Gators took over the moments right before and after the half, turning a seven point lead at the 2:00 mark to a 21 point lead with 14:21 remaining in the game – which is the largest deficit Auburn has now faced all season.
The Tigers were able to claw back and cut the Gator lead to nine but failed to complete the comeback, suffering their first loss of SEC play.
“Just trying to cut the lead. I knew we needed a couple stops, we came back down and they ended up scoring again. At that moment, we just needed a couple stops we didn't get,” guard Miles Kelly said of Auburn's failed comeback-bid.
Florida was able to score 90 points on the road at Auburn – the most given up by the Tigers at home since Georgia scored 91 at Auburn during the 2020-21 season – knocking down 13 shots from deep – the most by an opponent this season for Auburn.
Three of the Gators’ 13 made shots from deep came from offensive rebounds.
“Clayton was tremendous,” Pearl said. “Our game plan defensively was to try to get the ball out of his hands. And after the first couple possessions, you would never know that that was our game plan.
Walter Clayton Jr., who was out in Florida’s midweek game, led the way for the Gators with 19 points, scoring 16 in the first 20 minutes of action, shooting 4-of-8 from deep and nine assists. Clayton Jr. was one of five Gators that recorded 10-or-more points.
“His shooting ability,” Kelly said of Clayton. “He was 4-for-8 from 3, and I think those four 3s were huge for them. That really got their team going and gave his teammates confidence -- and a lot of open shots.”
Auburn struggled with Florida’s height on Saturday afternoon knocking down just 13 of 28 layup attempts. Gators’ center Alex Condon recorded 17 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.
“We missed a lot of shots inside, a lot of two-point baskets. We'll go back and look at it and go, ‘Golly.’ In a big game, you’ve gotta make them,” Pearl said.
Seven made 3-pointers ties Auburn’s second fewest in a game this season, knocking down only three in the second half of play. Miles Kelly led the Tigers from deep shooting 3-for-9 and totaling a team-high 22 points – a season-high point total for the Georgia Tech transfer.
“I think I got downhill a lot, but I missed a couple, got some good ones at the basket. That's just the game of basketball. Just get back to work tomorrow and put up more shots,” Kelly said.
The Tigers struggled from the charity stripe knocking down just 14 of the 23 attempts in a game lost by nine points while the Gators went 15-of-18 from the free throw line. Dylan Cardwell went 1-of-5 from the charity stripe, including a miss on the front end of a one-and-one.
“Kind of sensed this was about to happen at any point. We have had greater effort, energy, or at least match the effort, energy of every team we played. I knew that we were due for some. We were due for a letdown,” Pearl said.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
