Pregame Stuff: No. 15 Florida at Auburn (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)

Tuesday, February 14

Auburn, AL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Auburn

Tickets

Pregame Stuff: No. 15 Florida at Auburn (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)

Monday, February 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at Gators' road date against the Tigers.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

No. 15 FLORIDA at AUBURN

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Ala.
Records: Florida 20-5 (10-2); Auburn 16-9 (5-7)
TV: SEC Network (Adam Amin and John Sundvold)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Bill Koss)

STAKES (The Setup)

Florida is on a six-game winning streak, with all but the last one, Saturday's home defeat of Texas A&M, coming by double digits. The Gators, who moved up two spots to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll, have won their half-dozen straight by an average margin of 24.8 points and done so by playing outstanding defense and with balanced scoring. ... UF is in a three-way tie (with Kentucky and South Carolina) for first place atop the Southeastern Conference standings, with the next-closest competitors a full three games back. ... The Auburn game will start a run of two straight and three of the next four games on the road. ... The Tigers are in a four-way tie for eighth in the SEC standings, but at No. 67 in the Ratings Percentage Index definitely are pointing to this one -- against UF's RPI No. 11 -- as a game that could propel them into the NCAA Tournament conversation. Auburn had won two straight before collapsing Saturday night at Ole Miss, where the Tigers blew a 23-point second-half lead and lost 90-84. ... Florida trails the all-time series 77-87, but the Gators have won nine straight and 19 of the last 20 overall (dating to the 2000-01 season), including eight in a row on the road. ... In their last meeting, UF defeated Auburn 95-63 on Jan. 23, 2016 at Gainesville, led by 24 points from senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith. The Gators used an early 18-0 run to build a 20-5 and led by 25 just 10 minutes into the game. When it was over, Florida's 95 points had matched the most scored against an SEC opponent since 2012.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	11.4 pts / 5.6 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	7.0 pts / 3.7 reb
John Egbunu	C	6-11	250	R-Junior	7.7 pts / 6.7 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	11.6 pts / 2.7 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.7 pts / 2.9 reb / 4.8 asts

Auburn	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Danjel Purifoy	F	6-7	230	Freshman	11.5 pts / 4.8 reb
Austin Wiley	C	6-11	255	Freshman	9.4 pts / 5.3 reb
Jared Harper	G	5-10	165	Freshman	12.3 pts / 2.7 asts
T.J. Dunans	G	6-5	187	Senior	7.8 pts / 3.5 reb
Mustapha Heron	G	6-5	215	Freshman	15.3 pts / 5.7 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

As a high school senior last year in Connecticut, guard **Mustapha Heron** was the No. 1 player in the Northeast, a consensus Top 20 prospect and became the first five-star recruit ever to sign with the Auburn basketball program. In his final two prep games, Heron combined to score 79 points to lead Waterbury (Conn.) Sacred Heart to a third straight state championship. From the moment he stepped on the court at Auburn, Heron was the Tigers' alpha male; a guy who can score at all three levels. He leads the team in scoring at better than 15 points per game, while shooting 43 percent from both the floor and 3-point arc, nearly 77 percent from the free-throw line to go with 5.7 rebounds per game. Heron is a hard driver and strong finisher at the rim. He already has two double-doubles in his rookie season and figures to be a handful on the perimeter for UF small forward **Devin Robinson**, his likely defensive matchup against the Gators.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: They were far from their best in the win over A&M, but the Aggies (specifically their size) had plenty to do with that. UF shot just 39 percent overall and 30 percent from 3, but defended at a high level, forced turnovers and hit free throws. ... Senior forward Justin Leon went 4-for-8 from deep on his way to a team-best 18 points. Other than Leon, though, the rest of the Gators went 4-for-19 from 3. ... Leading scorer KeVaughn Allen has gone back-to-back games without hitting double figures and hasn't led the team in scoring since going for a season-high 29 in the Jan. 21 loss to Vanderbilt. ... UF's leading scorer in SEC play is backup forward Canyon Barry (13.6 ppg), who is hitting 46.5 percent from the floor, 36.7 from deep and 93.0 from the free-throw line in his 10 league appearances. ... Center John Egbunu is coming off his best game of the season, carding a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) against the big and physical Aggies. He'll face a similar player in Auburn's Austin Wiley, but the Tigers aren't loaded with size after that. ... Senior point guard Kasey Hill will look to bounce back from his least-productive game of the season (3 points, 3 assists, 5 turnovers). The Tigers can turn things into a playground game, which actually would be just fine with Hill and backup Chris Chiozza (5.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.0 apg). Florida wants to make the game wide open, especially with live-ball turnovers and transition opportunities. ... After a huge game against Kentucky, forward Devin Robinson has been relatively quiet the last two games (10 points, 5 rebounds total), but his length and ability to run the floor figure to show up in this one. ... ABOUT THE TIGERS: Coach Bruce Pearl is in his third season on the Auburn sideline, with a record of 42-49, including a 14-34 record in SEC play and a pair of losses in both meetings against the Gators. Pearl, however, is definitely making progress in the Tigers' rebuild. His 2016 recruiting class rated among the nation's top 10 and he's headed that way again with his '17 class. Regarding the former, the Tigers start four freshmen from that '16 haul and they figure to get better with age. ... Auburn can really score, evidenced by its 80 points per game, which ranks third in the league, and 3-point efficiency, which at 35.9 percent is fourth. What the Tigers don't do very well is defend. For the season, they're giving up 78.2 points per game, but the number jumps to 84.1 in conference play, which is 19 more than the Florida defense. ... After Herron, the Tigers have two more freshmen averaging in double figures in point guard Jared Harper (36 percent from 3) and forward Danjel Purifoy (43.4 percent). All three of those rookies, plus sophomore backup guard Bryce Brown (6.9 ppg, 35 percent from 3) have at least 35 treys on the season. Another reserve, forward T.J. Lang, has 24 and makes them at 38.7 percent. ... The Tigers' most experienced player, senior forward T.J. Dunans, hit a turn-around 3-pointer at the buzzer earlier this season to salvage a 76-74 home win against Mercer. ... Auburn has a tendency to be loose with the ball (14 turnovers pg), which could benefit the Gators as far as getting out in transition. The Tigers also rank last in opponents' rebounding (40.1 pg), compared to UF at No. 5 (35.0 pg). There will be chances for second-chance points.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .687 — UF's free-throw percentage against SEC opponents, despite three players (Barry, Allen and Leon) in the high 80s. Hill (.574) and Egbunu (.477) have struggled at the line.

* 6 — Double-digit losses by the Tigers, including two at home in SEC play (Georgia by 12, Tennessee by 10). Auburn also lost at Kentucky by 20 and at South Carolina by 29. UF's lone double-digit defeat was its 84-74 loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 6.

* 6 — Different Gators who have led the team in scoring during their current six-game winning streak: Robinson (LSU), Kevarrius Hayes, (Oklahoma), Barry (Missouri), Hill (Kentucky), Chiozza (Georgia) and Leon (A&M). Notice who's missing? Allen, the team's leading scorer. Maybe it's his turn.

* 2/14 — It's Valentine's Day and the Gators are on the road for the fourth straight time. The Gators lost on Feb. 14 at Georgia in 2009, won at Alabama in 2012 and lost at Texas A&M in 2015. UF last played at home on Valentine's Day in 2007, beating Alabama.

* 2014 — The last year Florida played at Auburn. That Gators went there Feb. 19 of that year ranked second in the nation and needed a late-game push to finish off the Tigrers 71-65.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

The Tigers have a little bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde deal going on. If they come out hitting shots -- and with a fired-up home crowd -- this one could get dicey. Dangerous game.