Tale of the Tape: Auburn travels to Florida for another quad-1 opportunity
The No. 11 Auburn Tigers are riding high after defeating their archrivals, No. 16 Alabama, by 18 points on Wednesday in front of the home crowd at Neville Arena.
Next up for the Tigers is another quad-1 opportunity on the road at Florida. The Gators are 15-7 overall and possess a 5-4 SEC record. Florida has also posted a 9-1 record at the O’Connell Center this season, which includes key wins over Georgia and Mississippi State. Florida’s best win this season came on Jan. 31 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, when the Gators defeated then-No. 10 Kentucky, 94-91 in overtime.
Auburn is 3-2 against SEC foes away from home this season, most recently taking down Ole Miss, 91-77 in Oxford last Saturday. Can the Tigers continue their success on the road?
Here’s a look at how Auburn stacks up with Florida ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Gainesville.
Rankings comparison
AUBURN | FLORIDA | |
19-4 (8-2) | Record (SEC) | 15-7 (5-4) |
No. 11 | Coaches Poll | Not Ranked |
No. 12 | AP Poll | Not Ranked |
No. 2 | SEC | No. 6 |
No. 7 | NET | No. 39 |
No. 4 | KenPom | No. 37 |
No. 4 | ESPN BPI | No. 28 |
Stats comparison
AUBURN | FLORIDA | |
83.1 | Points per game | 84.9 |
66.5 | Points allowed per game | 77.0 |
39.3 | Rebounds per game | 44.5 |
18.1 | Assists per game | 15.5 |
Johni Broome (16.0) | Leading scorer | Walter Clayton Jr. (15.9) |
Johni Broome (8.7) | Leading rebounder | Tyrese Samuel (8.4) |
Tre Donaldson (3.5) | Leading assists | Zyon Pullin (5.1) |
Resume comparison
AUBURN | FLORIDA | |
2-3 | Quad 1 | 1-7 |
6-1 | Quad 2 | 3-0 |
6-0 | Quad 3 | 7-0 |
5-0 | Quad 4 | 4-0 |
12-0 | Home record | 9-1 |
7-4 | Away/Neutral record | 6-6 |
Alabama (No. 6 in NET) | Best win | Kentucky (No. 23 in NET) |
Final analysis
It can not be overstated how much Auburn needs to play a complete game. Florida is a solid offensive team, and can win any game on any given day.
However, they are known for “taking time off” and not playing complete games. Evidence can be seen in their win over 102-98 overtime win over Georgia on Jan. 17, where the Gators blew a 21-point second-half lead before squeaking out a victory. Another example is its most recent game against Texas A&M, where Florida had a six-point halftime lead and led by as many as 12 points in the second half before dropping a 67-66 decision to the Aggies.
The good news is, that Auburn can play at a high level for all 40 minutes. If Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams, and Tre Donaldson can play a typical game as starters, and the likes of Chad Baker-Mazara, KD Johnson, and Dylan Cardwell provide relief off the bench, Auburn should get out of Gainesville with another quad-1 win.
