At the Buzzer: Florida 75, Auburn 55 (Instant Analysis)
Friday, January 16, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 75, AUBURN 55
WHAT HAPPENED: At Gainesville, the Gators had a quartet of players hit double figures and all their players who checked in found the scoring column in an offensively balanced and defensively sound defeat of the Tigers at the O'Connell Center. Junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points, sophomore point guard Kasey Hill and junior guard Eli Carter had 12, while junior guard Michael Frazier had 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds. UF shot 47.5 percent from the floor and held Auburn, which bombed in some late 3-pointers, to 32.7 for the game. The Gators won the points-in-the-paint battle 36-16.
WHAT IT MEANS: UF, after that barely break-even non-conference schedule, improved to 3-0 in the SEC. For now, only the Gators and No. 1-ranked Kentucky are unbeaten in the 14-team league after both Arkansas and Alabama lost earlier in the week. Florida has now won 24 consecutive SEC games, tying the fourth-longest such streak in league history.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Give a hand to the UF starting backcourt of Hill and freshman Chris Chiozza, a combo that debuted last week at South Carolina and has yet to lose. Hill had those 12 points and sevens assists, while Chiozza -- who did not score his past two games -- had nine points and two assists. So a combined 21 points (on 10-for-18 shooting) to go with nine assists and -- get this -- zero turnovers.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Auburn had more fouls (17) than field goals (16).
UP NEXT: The Gators (10-6, 3-0) hit the SEC road for Georgia -- with a bus ride, no less -- for a quick Thursday-Saturday turnaround to face the Bulldogs (10-5, 1-2) in a nationally televised game (CBS, 2 p.m.) from Athens. The Dawgs opened the league schedule with a pair of losses (home against Arkansas and at LSU), but won Wednesday night 70-67 at Vanderbilt.
