AUBURN – Coming off a decisive 98-70 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday, the top-ranked Auburn Tigers are set to host another top 10 showdown with No. 6 Florida making the trip to Neville Arena on Saturday.
“I think this is the third or fourth best team we've played in the top three or four. I place them right there with Duke, Houston, Iowa State and Tennessee. One of the top teams that we played so far, absolutely,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Florida, which took down the No. 1 Volunteers earlier this season.
The Gators are coming off an 86-65 win against Vanderbilt in their last outing, despite being without one of the SEC’s best guards in Walker Clayton Jr. Averaging 17.4 points per game, Clayton Jr. was sidelined with an ankle injury but is expected to take the floor against the Tigers on Saturday.
Clayton Jr., who has six games with 25+ points this season, is joined in the backcourt by Alijah Martin – questionable for Saturday with an apparent hip injury – with 15.3 points per game and Will Richard with 13.4 points per game, who scored a team-high 21 points in the latest win over the Commodores.
“They play super hard. The guards from one-to-three, they play super hard. And they're very versatile. So I think just us three guards starting out, we’ve got to set the tone with them. Picking up, pressuring them, making them uncomfortable, making their looks harder, and just pay attention to the scout really,” said Auburn guard Miles Kelly on the Gators’ backcourt.
In addition to having one of the best backcourts the Tigers have seen this season, the Gators feature a physical frontline and rank among the nation's best with 43.5 rebounds per game, including 14.7 on the offensive glass.
“They're a very physical front line, obviously,” said Auburn center Dylan Cardwell. “They got more physical over the years. They have gotten older and so, obviously more expertise. Obviously, with them being a physical team it is going to be a hard challenge for us."
“You saw it with South Carolina, and I feel like we're a better team from South Carolina, from that game. And it's kind of been our focus to not kind of get punked and slapped around, but kind of hold our own. So it's going to be a focal point going in, just to everybody, to rebound and be more physical," he added.
Auburn will look to defend its home court, where the Tigers haven’t allowed more than 70 points this season, with a chance to secure its 13th Quad I win and extend its winning streak to 15 games.
“I think just 99% of that is the jungle. It’s like having a sixth defender out there. One of my best friends, Jalon Moore, plays at Oklahoma. I talked to him after the game, and he was just like, ‘Man, the atmosphere is crazy.’ He could barely hear the play calls,” said Kelly. “So I think the jungle, a lot of that is a big testament to that.”
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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