Sixth-ranked Florida made history on Saturday with their victory over No. 1 Auburn.
It wasn’t just the 90-81 win that went into the record books for Florida, though. Earlier in the season, the Gators had already beaten a No. 1 team, defeating then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.
Saturday’s win was historic because it was the first time Florida had beaten a No. 1 team on the road. It also marked the first home loss and first SEC loss for Auburn (21-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) this season.
Before this game, Florida (20-3, 7-3) had lost all seven of its previous road games against No. 1 teams.
“This is probably the toughest place to play in America right now, against the best team in America, and we showed out for 40 minutes,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “I thought we were the mentally and physically tougher team.”
Florida pulled off the win without their second-leading scorer, Alijah Martin, who was out with a hip injury.
Instead, the Gators relied on their leading scorer, Walter Clayton Jr., who played the whole game. Clayton, who had missed Florida’s win at Vanderbilt earlier in the week due to an ankle injury, finished with 19 points and nine assists.
“I looked over at him and said I was going to run him for all 40 minutes,” Golden said. Clayton responded with, “No problem.”
Auburn quickly took a 10-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. However, Florida controlled the rest of the first half, outscoring Auburn 43-23. In the second half, Florida scored 20 of the first 29 points.
“I mean, they just came in here like they had to win it,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said about Florida. “That’s how they played their possessions. And they played harder. They played better. They played more desperately.
Florida and No. 1 Auburn“We did not look like the No. 1 team in the country. We didn’t act like the No. 1 team in the country. We didn’t prepare like it. And, as a result, we got beat.”
Before Saturday, Auburn hadn’t allowed more than 70 points in a home game this season. Florida reached that total with 12:31 left in the game.
“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.”
Florida did well against Auburn’s frontcourt, led by Johni Broome, a fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a national player of the year candidate. Broome finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, but he missed 11 of his 19 shots.
Golden praised his team for defending Broome’s powerful left hand during his inside touches. Alex Condon scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Florida, while Thomas Haugh added 16 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks off the bench.
“(Broome) has played like the best player in America to this point,” Golden said. “He deserves that recognition. … I recruited Johni when I first got at Florida, and Bruce punked me there and got the best player in America for a few years.”
Offensively, Florida had 22 assists on 31 made baskets, the highest assist count for the team in SEC play this season. This was well above their average of 13.9 assists per game in conference play.
These 22 assists were also the most Auburn had allowed all season, by a significant margin. The previous high was 13 assists by Purdue in December.
Florida made 13 3-pointers, also a season-high in SEC play. Urban Klavzar came off the bench and made all three of his shots from long distance.
“It was the way they played out of the ball screen and shared the ball and spaced (out),” Pearl said. “And they banged a bunch of shots. I mean, they banged a bunch of shots. And their bench really stepped up for them.”
