Sixth-ranked UF will have to band together Saturday when they take on the No. 1-ranked Auburn Tigers and arguably the best home-court advantage in the country.
Another Weekend Road Trip, Another Monumental Challenge
Friday, February 7, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
AUBURN, Ala. – About 10:20 p.m. local time Tuesday, the final horn sounded to end Auburn's 98-70 throttling of Oklahoma, but even before the nation's top-ranked team officially had claimed its 14th straight victory dozens of fans from the home team's delirious student section – "The Jungle" – had left their seats, exited Neville Arena and began forming a new line.
The one for the game four days (or about 90 hours) away. Seriously.
There can be no overstating how loud, crazy and difficult a challenge the sixth-ranked Florida Gators (19-3, 6-3) will face Saturday afternoon when they take the floor against the No. 1 and Southeastern Conference-unbeaten Tigers (21-1, 9-0) in their deafening din.
"It's going to be a toxic environment to play in," UF sophomore forward Alex Condon said.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
OK, now that's clearly understating what the visitors will have to deal with, what with Auburn's home-court advantage being the afternoon's greatest intangible, though not it's greatest obstacle. Of far more concern are the Tigers, who not only have amassed the most wins and best record in the country, but done so against the nation's most difficult schedule, already with a staggering 12 victories classified as Quadrant 1s by the NCAA Evaluation Tool. The Tigers have one of the favorites for 2025 NCAA Player of the Year in forward Johnie Broome, an offense with historically high advanced metrics and a defense that's floated in and out of the top 10 all season.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl has had it going for a while, averaging 24.0 wins over the previous six seasons and winning a pair of SEC regular-season titles and two SEC Tournament championships, but this is his best one yet and – barring an unforeseen catastrophe – the Tigers will be rewarded next month with the No. 1 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
"They're just good in all facets," UF coach Todd Golden said.
If not elite.
For the Gators, the task is a colossal one. It's also their second road date against a top-10 opponent in as many weekends. Such is life in the SEC. Last Saturday, Florida was ranked fifth when it played at eighth-ranked Tennessee, which was minus two starters, including its best player. No matter. The Gators were wood-shedded, 64-44, scoring their fewest number of points in 35 years.
And this Auburn team is much better than that one.
"We have to be more aggressive," senior guard Will Richard said.
Richard's individual performance at Tennessee was a microcosm of his team's. He played tentatively from the jump, just like the Gators. Richard went to Knoxville averaging 10 shots a game, including better than five 3 attempts per. He took just two shots (of any kind) and finished with two points over 33 minutes.
When Richard watched himself on tape, he couldn't believe what he saw.
"Just sitting in the corner the majority of the game. I felt I wasn't involved, wasn't in the flow from early in the game," Richard said. "It wasn't a good feeling [to watch], I'm not going to lie."
Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., sidelined with a sore ankle, cheers on his teammates during Tuesday night's home win against Vanderbilt.
On Tuesday, Richard shook off that outing with a 21-point eruption in UF's 86-75 win over Vanderbilt, a performance that included five 3s (his most in SEC play), plus seven rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in a season-high 39 minutes. He was terrific.
But that game was back in Gainesville, in the friendly confines of Exatech Arena/O'Connell Center. There will be nothing friendly, nothing at all comfortable, about what awaits the Gators on The Plain. The Gators need the experience of that one to put them on edge for this one.
"I think we had a lot of learning curves at Tennessee," Condon said.
There were also expectations in that game, both internal and external, that might have been shoved out of whack with the game-day news that UT point guard Zakai Zeigler, the 2024 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and league assists leader, plus forward Igor Milicic Jr., the Volunteers' third scorer and second rebounder, were scratches.
Auburn has no such issues relative to injuries or illness. The Gators will be getting the Tigers' best, which is why UF will go in as nearly a double-digit underdog. In fact, Golden said his team had more reason to be tight Tuesday against Vandy – at home, as substantial favorites, even with leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. out with an ankle injury – which was why he was so pleased with how the Gators collectively performed in getting key contributions from several role players, as well some mainstays.
Clayton is expected back in the lineup against the Tigers.
"You feel pressure to protect your home floor and find a way to win games that just aren't guarantees, but when you go on the road and you're playing the No. 1 team in the country there's a little less expectation," Golden said. "It opens the door to maybe take some chances and be more aggressive in some areas that you normally wouldn't feel the confidence to do so. So … we'll go in there, for a lack of a better term, [with] nothing to lose, not being afraid to fail and go give it our best swing and see we can come home with."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
