Florida Men’s Basketball Stuns No. 1 Auburn In ‘The Jungle’

The No. 6 Florida Gators outplayed No. 1 Auburn on Saturday for a 90-81 win at Neville Arena.

The Gators (20-3, 7-3 SEC) turned the game around after trailing early 15-5 by outscoring the Tigers 43-23 the rest of the half en route to snapping Auburn’s 14-game winning streak. Florida also handed Auburn (21-2, 9-1) its first SEC loss and first home defeat.

It’s also the first time the Gators have beaten a No. 1 team in a true road game and the second time in 32 days they defeated another No. 1 team — Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7 in Gainesville.

“The last 36 minutes of the game, I thought we were as good as you can be in an environment like this,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “Our players deserve all the credit for this victory today.”

There was some concern for the Gators going into the game by playing without starting guard Alijah Martin, who was ruled out with a hip injury. However, with Walter Clayton Jr. (19 points, nine assists and six rebounds) returning after sitting out the previous game against Vanderbilt with an ankle injury and the contributions from Alex Condon (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Thomas Haugh (16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks off the bench) the Gators answered the challenge.

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Offensive Performances

Clayton Jr. had 16 of his points in the first half to help put the Gators in the lead for good. Clayton shot 50% from 3-point range. Condon stepped up by shooting 70% from the field. Reserve guard Urban Klavzar shot 3-of-3 from 3-point range, as everything seemed to go well for the Gators, shooting 48.4% from the field.

“It’s definitely tough to get a win on the road in the SEC in general, especially against a No. 1 team,” Clayton said. “Auburn, they’re a great team. They do a lot of things well. But we prepared well, and we came out and we executed.”

The Tigers were led by Johni Broome, who scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds, and Miles Kelly’s 22 points. Auburn shot 42.9% from the field and 7-of-22 from 3.

Florida had 22 assists on 31 made baskets, its highest in SEC play this season and above its 13.9 per conference game average. UF hit 13 shots from 3-point range, which is also its top mark in league play this season.

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Up Next

Florida stays on the road for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5) on ESPN2 and 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF. MSU won at Georgia on Saturday, 76-75.