Sixth-ranked Florida makes program history, beating Auburn for 1st road victory over a No. 1 team

Sixth-ranked Florida made program history with its victory over No. 1 Auburn on Saturday.

It wasn’t the Gators’ 90-81 win over the Tigers that’ll find its way into the program’s record books. Florida had already taken down a top-ranked team this season, beating then- No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.

Saturday’s win marked the first time the Gators have beaten a No. 1 team in a true road game. It was also the first home loss and the first SEC loss of the season for Auburn (21-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference).

Coming into the 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 notched the win without No. 2 scorer Alijah Martin, who was ruled out with a hip injury.

Instead, the Gators leaned heavily on leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr., who played the entire game. After missing Florida’s win at Vanderbilt earlier this week with an ankle injury, Clayton 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’s response? “No problem.”

Auburn raced out to an early 10-point lead in the first six minutes of the game. Then, Florida dominated the rest of the first half, outscoring Auburn 43-23. The Gators then scored 20 of the first 29 points of the second half.

“I mean, they just came in here like they had to win it,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Florida. “That’s how they played their possessions. And they played harder. They played better. They played more desperately.

“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.”

Entering Saturday, Auburn hadn’t allowed more than 70 points in a home game this season. Florida got to that mark with 12:31 left on the clock.

“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 was able to hold up well against Auburn’s frontcourt, which was led by Johni Broome, a fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a contender for national player of the year. While Broome finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, he missed 11 of 19 shot attempts.

Golden praised his team for consistently defending Broome’s dominant left hand on his inside touches. Alex Condon had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Florida up front, 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 assist count was the team’s highest in SEC play this season, well above its 13.9 per conference game average.

Those 22 assists were also the most that Auburn had allowed all season — by a considerable margin: Purdue had the previous high mark of 13, in December.

Florida hit 13 shots from 3-point range, which was also its top mark in SEC play this season. Urban Klavzar came off the bench and was perfect on 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.”

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball