AUBURN, Ala. — Sharife Cooper was absent from pregame warmups Tuesday night, as buzz zipped through Auburn Arena that the standout freshman point guard, one of the best playmakers in the country, would not suit up for Auburn's game against Florida. Inside the Gators' locker room, Coach Mike White and his staff debated how to broach the subject with the team. 

Given that Cooper, averaging 20.2 points and 8.1 assists, not only is one of the most ball-dominant guards in the country, but also one of the most efficient and unselfish — and represented items 1, 2 and 3 in the opponent scouting report — the potential to relax, even momentarily, posed some danger. 

When the starting lineups were posted and Cooper, indeed, was a scratch due to an ankle injury suffered in practice Sunday, White reminded his players how the Gators responded those first couple games minus Keyontae Johnson. Or what they did to Tennessee, then No. 6 in the country, the night three of their best players were sidelined. Apparently, they listened.

"We stayed with the same approach," Florida sophomore guard Tre Mann said. 

It worked. Pretty much immediately. 

Mann scored 19 points, all but three in the first half, and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, while sophomore wing Scottie Lewis came off the bench and dropped 14 of his 16 points before the break, as UF built a commanding lead on the road and finished the job with a 74-57 defeat of the wounded Tigers. The win was a second straight and nudged the Gators (12-6, 8-5), currently alone in fourth place in the Southeastern Conference standings, within a game of third-place LSU, which was upset by Georgia Tuesday night. 

UF trailed for all of 65 seconds. Auburn (11-13, 5-10) hit a 3-pointer barely a minute into the game. The Gators scored the next 11 points and took advantage of eight Tigers turnovers through the first nine minutes to build a 12-point lead that Mann and friends took to 22 by halftime. Thirteen minutes into the game, Mann had twice as many points as Auburn — UF led 25-8 after a Mann jumper gave him his 15th and 16th point of the period with 7:03 remaining — and Lewis scored seven over a late-half 90-second stretch that helped send Florida to the locker room up 44-22. 

The Gators shot 50 percent in the first half, including 5-for-10 from distance, while the Tigers hit just seven of their 23 shots (only three of 16 3-point attempts) and had 13 turnovers that led to 13 points for the visitors. 

"I thought we were pretty good," White said. "A lot of times we had the right amount of urgency and at times we didn't." 
 
Example: That first shot Auburn hit, courtesy a 3-ball by guard Jamal Johnson, was wide open. White wasted no time. He called a timeout, reminded his players that, minus Cooper, the Tigers had five 3-point shooters on the floor; re-reminded them, actually. Out came the UF starting front court and in came three subs. 

The Gators, collectively, appeared to get the point. 

Mann, though, seemed to have his mind right from the tip.

"I came out aggressive," he said. 

Indeed, he did. At halftime, he had banged seven of his nine shots, while attacking off ball screens and utilizing nice seals by front court mates. He also dropped two of four 3-pointers. White, though, was more impressed by the 13 rebounds, just the second double-digit effort on the glass of Mann's career. 

"He's growing with his physical toughness and leadership stuff. He's trying to become a grimier player," White said. "We know how skilled he is. Things look easy to him, Offensively. he's capable of getting 19 [points] on many nights, but 13 rebounds? That's huge for him and huge for us."

Auburn used full-court pressure to get UF out of sorts in the second half, much the way South Carolina (loss), Arkansas (loss) and even Georgia (win) did the last three games. UF turned the ball over six times in the first seven minutes out of intermission, as the Tigers twice cut that 22-point lead to 15. 

"To our credit, we outplayed them the second half," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.

The last 15-point cushion disappeared, thanks to the help of a 3-pointer from fourth-year junior guard Tyree Appleby (11 points, just one turnover after combining for 12 the last two games) and an old-time 3-point play by Mann that pushed the Gators in front by 24 with just inside six minutes left. 

When it was over, UF had outscored Auburn 40-20 in the paint and forced 20 turnovers, converting them to 19 points, which helped the Gators overcome 36-percent shooting in the second half (2-for-10 from 3). 

"We stayed aggressive, we stayed attacking," Mann said. "We kept playing the same way we started."