OGT-Florida vs #12/11. Auburn 2/10/2024 3:30 pm

Florida 15-7/5-4 SEC vs. #12/11 Auburn 19-4/8-2 SEC
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Billy Donovan Court
Gainesville, Fla. | Game 23 | Feb. 3, 2024 | 3:30 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Dave Neal
Analyst: Patric Young

Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
31-24 | 2nd season at UF
88-60 | 5th season overall
Bruce Pearl
206-115 | 10th season at Auburn
668-380 | 29th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 82-91
All-Time Home: 51-29
Series under Golden: 0-1
Home under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting:
L, 58-61, 12/28/22 (Away)

BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Dave Neal
Analyst: Patric Young

Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.6 13.3 8.4 1.2 stl
3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 19.8 7.0 7.6 .670 fg%
0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 32.2 15.4 3.7 5.1 ast
1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 30.5 15.9 3.6 2.4 3fg
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.0 11.6 4.0 2.0 3fg

AUBURN POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
2 Jaylin Williams F 6-8 245 Gr. 24.4 13.3 5.2 2.0 ast
4 Johni Broome F 6-10 240 Jr. 24.1 16.0 8.7 2.4 blk
5 Chris Moore F 6-6 220 Sr. 14.5 2.4 1.6 0.9 ast
3 Tre Donaldson G 6-3 200 So. 19.4 7.4 2.7 3.5 ast
12 Denver Jones G 6-4 205 Jr. 20.7 7.7 1.9 1.2 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
20​

Zyon Pullin has scored double figures in all 19 of his appearances
and looks to become the fifth Gator since 1996-97 with a 20-game
double-figure scoring streak, joining Anthony Roberson (29), Colin
Castleton (24), Kenny Boynton (23) and Udonis Haslem (23).

17th​

Florida has the 17th-ranked offensive efficiency in the nation, per
KenPom. The Gators are working toward their first top-20 finish in
that category since 2013-14, when UF ranked 19th.

1,000​

Will Richard stands at 988 career points, 12 away from the 1,000-
point milestone. He scored 399 in one season at Belmont and has 589
as a Gator.

 

THE TIP-OFF​

• Florida looks to bounce back after seeing its four-game win streak halted in a one-point road loss at Texas A&M. Fresh off their bye, the Gators welcome 12th-ranked Auburn for a Quad 1 opportunity on their home floor, also marking the fifth-ranked opponent for UF over its first 10 SEC contests.

• Zyon Pullin leads the SEC in assist/turnover ratio both overall (4.2) and in conference play (4.6), and his 5.1 assists per game rank second in the SEC. Pullin has scored 10+ points in every appearance this season, and his 19-game double-figure scoring streak is tied for the fifth-longest by a Gator since 1996-97.

• Florida has two of the top three offensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.8) and Tyrese Samuel
(3.3), and UF’s 40.0% offensive rebounding rate is second-highest in the nation. Samuel has nine double-doubles, including three 20/10 outings, most recently his 22-point, 13-rebound effort in the win at #10 Kentucky.

2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS​

• The Gators notched a big resume win in their victory at 10th-ranked Kentucky, led by a trio of 20-point scorers in Walter Clayton Jr. (23), Tyrese Samuel (22), and Zyon Pullin (21). Clayton’s 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left in regulation forced overtime and another with 1:42 left in overtime put the Gators ahead for good.

• Micah Handlogten posted 23 points and 17 rebounds in the win vs. Georgia, while Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the overtime period. Handlogten is just the fifth SEC player over the last 10 seasons to post
23 and 17 in a conference game, joining Oscar Tshiebwe, Sindarius Thornwell, Ben Simmons & Jordan Mickey.

• Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida committed a season-low seven turnovers. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. each added 15 points.

• Five Gators scored in double figures in the victory at Mizzou, led by Tyrese Samuel’s 17, while Micah Handlogten posted a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.

• Five Gators in double figures highlighted UF’s win vs. Arkansas, as Riley Kugel scored 20 points off the bench to lead the way and Tyrese Samuel added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

• Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime forced the second extra session, where an 11-0 UF run put the game away.

• Will Richard earned Orange Bowl Classic MVP honors as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Gators vs. Richmond. Richard posted a solo 9-0 run as he hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span that helped create separation vs. the Spiders.

• The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8
assist-to-turnover showing as a team.

• Florida blitzed Florida State, leading 27-5 before taking a 52-22 advantage into halftime. The Gators shot .643 and held the Seminoles to .258 from the field during the first half

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Auburn enters ranked #4 in KenPom, riding a three-game winning
streak. The Tigers have the nation’s top-ranked two-point field goal
defense, allowing just .425 shooting inside the arc. They also block
16.5 percent of opponents’ field goal attempts, second-best in the
nation (Houston, 17.7%).

• Johni Broome leads the Tigers with 16.0 points per game, 8.7
rebounds and 55 blocked shots. Broome is adept at getting to the free
throw line, shooting 4.9 free throws per game.

• Jaylin Williams adds 13.3 points per game, shooting .598 from the
floor.

• Sixth man Chad Baker-Mazara chips in 9.5 points, while leading
3-point shooter Aden Holloway (43/138, .312) has been recently
coming off the bench, as well.

• Tre Donaldson leads with 81 assists, and K.D. Johnson has 31 steals.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Jan. 24 at Alabama L 75-79
Jan. 27 at Mississippi State L 58-64
Jan. 31 Vanderbilt W 81-54
Feb. 3 at Ole Miss W 91-77
Feb. 7 Alabama W 99-81

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Feb. 14 South Carolina
Feb. 17 Kentucky
Feb. 24 at Georgia
Feb. 28 at Tennessee
March 2 Mississippi State

LAST 20 VS. AUBURN (15-5)
Jan. 14, 2009 A W 68-65
March 13, 2009 SEC L 58-61
Feb. 18, 2010 H W 78-70
March 11, 2010 SEC W 78-69
Jan. 20, 2011 A W 45-40
Feb. 21, 2012 H W 63-47
Feb. 16, 2013 A W 83-52
Jan. 18, 2014 A W 68-61
Feb. 19, 2014 H W 71-66
Jan. 15, 2015 H W 75-55
Jan. 23, 2016 H W 95-63
Feb. 14, 2017 A W 114-95
Feb. 24, 2018 H W 72-66
Feb. 5, 2019 A L 62-76
March 16, 2019 SEC L 62-65
Jan. 18, 2020 H W 69-47
Feb. 23, 2021 A W 74-57
Jan. 8, 2022 A L 73-85
Feb. 19, 2022 H W 63-62
Dec. 28, 2022 A L 58-61