Gators to tip off SEC play at No. 20 Auburn
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team (7-5, 0-0 SEC) will begin conference play on Wednesday night when they travel to Auburn to take on the No. 20 Tigers (10-2, 0-0 SEC).
It will be the first meeting between UF head coach Todd Golden and his former boss Bruce Pearl. There’s no question that there’s nothing but respect between the two SEC head coaches.
“From Bruce, I learned about passion, how to build a program, servant leadership and just overall excitement in how to galvanize a group for the greater good,” Golden said of Pearl in March.
Auburn holds a 90-82 lead in the all-time series.
A season ago, the Gators split the regular season series with the Tigers. Florida took the second matchup in Gainesville when it defeated No. 2 Auburn, 63-62.
Now, the Tigers are certainly a different team optically but just as dangerous as before.
Auburn’s key players to watch
One constant from last year’s team to this one for the Tigers is Wendell Green Jr. He’s the oil that allows the Auburn offense to operate at full speed.
Green leads the Tigers with 12.6 points per game and 3.7 assists per game. He averages 1.1 steals and will make life difficult for UF’s ball handlers.
Johni Broome may be a familiar name for Florida fans after he chose to transfer to Auburn over UF from Morehead State in the offseason. The 6-foot-10 sophomore is doing his part to fill the void of Walker Kessler, who is now with the Utah Jazz.
Broome leads Auburn with an average 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while averaging 12.2 points. The matchup between Broome and Colin Castleton in the paint will be crucial on Wednesday night.
It’s hard to not mention KD Johnson, who has the ability to take over the game with his aggressiveness on both ends of the floor and 3-point shooting ability. He’ll likely come off the bench for the Tigers on Wednesday night.
How the Gators pull the upset
In Pearl’s time at Auburn, he is 4-7 against the Gators. And in a number of those games, Auburn has had the better squad.
The statistic that stands out the most is Florida’s 3-point shooting percentage in its four losses against high-major teams this season. It’s just 21 percent.
If the Gators are planning to go into The Jungle and take a win, that percentage will have to be more than doubled. That won’t be easy considering the Tigers are holding opponents to just 27.1 percent from range.
Still, the Gators have shooters such as Will Richard and Kowacie Reeves who need to get hot from behind the arc, not only for this game but for the entirety of conference play.
Another key to victory for UF is playing through Castleton. He has to get going early and win the battle at the glass over Broome. If not, it might get ugly in Auburn on Wednesday night.
“It starts and ends with Castleton,” Bruce Pearl said. “He has had his way with us since he got into the league, and Florida’s traditionally been a tough matchup for us.”
Defensively, the Gators can’t shy away from defending the 3-ball. It has killed them all season, and the Auburn backcourt is consistently looking to shoot from way downtown.
The first 10 minutes of play will be very telling. If Florida can keep it close and take the crowd out of it, Golden might be able to leave his former stomping grounds with the biggest win of his coaching career thus far.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
WHO: Florida Gators (7-5, 0-0 SEC) at No. 20 Auburn Tigers (10-2, 0-0 SEC)
WHEN: Wednesday, December 28, 7 p.m. ET
WHERE: Neville Arena, Auburn, Alabama
WATCH: ESPN2 or ESPN App; Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald, Color: Jimmy Dykes
RADIO: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD (SiriusXM 385, SXM App 975); Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley; Analyst: Lee Humphrey
BETTING LINES: Line: Auburn (-5.5); Over/Under: 139.5
