That was a mess.
Coming off their biggest win of the season, the No. 11 Auburn Tigers came out flatter than the head of a Florida alligator on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville and eventually fell to the host Florida Gators, 81-65.
Bruce Pearl’s team never had a chance to breathe against a phenomenal Florida offensive attack led by star guard Walter Clayton Jr.
The junior and the rest of the Gators shot well over a 50% clip from the field in the first half. Those made shots came early and often, as the Gators jumped out to an early 9-2 lead that became double digits just six minutes into the contest.
From there, the rout was on. Auburn’s offense simply could not keep up with forwards [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] going colder from the field than your Super Bowl spread by the third quarter.
Whenever Auburn’s top scoring duo combines for just 18 points, its going to be tough sledding against any opponent, especially one as potent as Florida.
The blowout loss continues a concerning trend for the Tigers of bad offense in true road games. [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and company seemingly fixed their struggles last week against Ole Miss, but that game is now looking like more of an outlier than the norm.
Either way, the Tigers will need to regroup quickly to prepare for another Quad 1 opportunity when they host SEC-leader South Carolina on Wednesday.
As for Florida, the Gators are almost certain to claim an NCAA Tournament bid after another dominant performance. They’ll have the chance to distance themselves further from the bubble on Tuesday against LSU.
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