Florida basketball finally made a statement against the second-ranked Auburn Tigers on its home court with a 63-62 upset win on Saturday. The victory was the second of the Quadrant 1 variety this season for the Gators, the other one being another one-point win on a last-second buzzer-beater by Tyree Appleby against the Ohio State Buckeyes way back in November.
Appleby was once again the hero for Florida, leading the way in the scoring column thanks in part to a 50% mark from beyond the arc and a 7-for-8 effort from the charity stripe. His production plus Colin Castleton‘s 19 points were just enough to overcome freshman sensation Jabari Smith’s game-high 28 points and lead the Orange and Blue to home court glory.
As a result, the Gators moved up from No. 53 to No. 47 in the latest NET rankings update — a bit of a modest improvement considering the enormity of the win — and now hold a 2-7 record in Quadrant 1 games. The Quadrant 1 loss for the Tigers only nicked them slightly, dropping Auburn from No. 8 to No. 9 on Sunday morning.
Next up for Florida is the Arkansas Razorbacks, who the Gators will host in the O’Connell Center on Tuesday with tipoff time set at 7 p.m. EST. The game currently represents another opportunity for the Gators to get a Quadrant 1 win as the Hogs are ranked No. 23 after their 10-point win over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.
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