Florida Gators

What Happened
 

Sophomore guard Riley Kugel scored 22 points and helped lead a clinic of Florida backcourt play, as the Gators completely overwhelmed 12th-ranked Auburn on the way to a wire-to-wire 81-65 victory in their Southeastern  Conference showdown Saturday at sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Facing the No. 2-rated defensive team in the country, the Gators shot 52 percent over the first 30 minutes to build a 29-point lead before hitting a nasty dry spell. Still, the fat lead allowed them to turn the tables on the Tigers with easily their best all-around defensive performance, given the opponent. Auburn, which three nights earlier demolished rival, SEC leader and 16th-ranked Alabama 99-81, shot just 42 percent for the game and made only three of 17 attempts from the 3-point arc. The win was UF's fifth over the previous six games and should do wonders for their postseason resume. UF starting guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin combined to score 39 points, grab 12 rebounds and dish four assists, with Clayton banging a trio of 3s. Florida center Micah Handlogten, the 7-foot-1 sophomore center, had nine rebounds, four blocks, three steals and was a huge factor inside in impacting the game. The Gators scored the game's first nine points, led by 17 inside eight minutes to go in the first half and by 16 at intermission. They started the second half fast on the way to taking a 29-point lead with 13-plus minutes to go. Like several other games this season, UF went went into a wicked drought -- this one really bad -- in missing their last 14 shots over the game's final nearly 10 minutes. It didn't matter, though. The lead was too big for the Tigers to do anything about it, other than make the final outcome look a little better.  Auburn was led by forward Johni Broom's 14 points and seven rebounds. 

What it Means

The win at Kentucky 10 days ago was the biggest road victory of Coach Todd Golden's two seasons and now comes a seismic Quadrant 1 home victory that takes the Gators to 2-7 in those category games. The Gators pulled even with Kentucky for fifth place in the league standings and with eight games to go can realistically take aim at a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament next month at Nashville.
 

In the Spotlight

Kugel finished seven of 16 from the floor, made three of his seven 3-point attempts (one of them a 4-point play during UF's big second-half rush that sent the crowd into delirum), went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and also grabbed four rebounds over 29 minutes. It was his highest point total since scoring 24 in a loss at Wake Forest on Nov. 29.
 

Staggering Statistic

Make that 15 consecutive home wins against Auburn, far and away the longest active streak against SEC teams (believed to be the longest against anyone ever, by the way). The Tigers' last win at the O'Dome came in 1996. 
 

Up Next

Florida (16-7, 6-4) will play a second consecutive home game Tuesday night against LSU (12-11, 4-6). The Tigers started the league season by winning three of four games, but have lost five of six, with the latest coming earlier Saturday in a 109-92 drilling courtesy of 16th-ranked Alabama. Auburn (19-5, 8-3), meanwhile, fell out of a first-place tie with Alabama and South Carolina atop the league standings, with a huge home game against the Gamecocks looming Wednesday.