Auburn basketball vs. Florida: Score prediction as Tigers try to snap Gainesville streak

AUBURN — Auburn basketball seems to have its swagger back.

After losing back-to-back games for the first time this season — at Alabama on Jan. 24 and at Mississippi State three days later — the Tigers responded by handling Vanderbilt, rallying back from down 13 points at Ole Miss and, most recently, handing the Crimson Tide an 18-point loss in Neville Arena on Wednesday.

The going, however, is not about to get any easier. Only one of the remaining teams on Auburn's schedule is ranked outside the top 85 in KenPom, and five of the upcoming foes are top-50 opponents. Florida, which the Tigers (19-4, 8-2 SEC) will have to deal with on the road Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network), is No. 35. Auburn hasn't won in Gainesville since February 1996.

Here's a scouting report on the Gators (15-7, 5-4), as well as a prediction for how this one will play out:

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Florida vs. Auburn basketball gives Bruce Pearl another bout with a familiar face

For the second time since he left the Auburn staff, Florida coach Todd Golden will have to play his former boss.

There's no ill will between Tigers coach Bruce Pearl and Golden, who began his two-year stint on the Plains as Auburn's director of basketball operations for the 2014-15 season. He was elevated to be an assistant coach the next campaign before leaving for a similar position at San Francisco. He eventually became the coach of the Dons in 2019. In his five seasons as a head coach, Golden has compiled an 88-60 record, including a 14-13 mark against SEC competition.

"They’ve only lost once at home (this season)," Pearl said Wednesday of the Gators. "And obviously we go in there with a big number on our head. Coach Todd Golden is one of our former assistants, (and) he's done a fantastic job rebuilding that program."

Return to sender

Florida has seen 14.8% of its shot attempts blocked in SEC play, according to College Basketball Analytics. That ranks No. 12 in the conference, ahead of Alabama (15.2%) and Texas A&M (16%). That plays right into Auburn's hands, as the Tigers have swatted 18.3% of their opponents looks.

Johni Broome has had a particular knack for rejecting shots with 21 blocks over his last five games. He's logged five or more blocks in a single game nine times during his Auburn career, with three of those contests having occurred since Jan. 24.

Playing fast

The Gators get up and down the floor in a hurry. They've got a pace — an estimate of a team's number of possessions per 40 minutes — of 71.4. Only Alabama (71.7) and Kentucky (72.4) have higher marks in the SEC, and the Wildcats are the only team averaging more shots per game (66.5 vs. 66.1).

Florida does most of its work within the 3-point arc, with 64.7% of its shots coming from 2-point range. The leading scorer for the Gators and arguably the biggest threat from long range is Walter Clayton, who is averaging 15.9 points and 6.6 attempts from deep. He's knocking down those triples at a 36.6% rate.

Auburn basketball vs. Florida: Score prediction

Florida 79, Auburn 78: The Tigers, despite both of their SEC losses coming away from Neville Arena, are only allowing 67.2 points per game on the road versus their conference counterparts. But the Gators are scoring an average of 89 points at home, and winning on another team's floor is tough.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball vs. Florida: Score prediction for Bruce Pearl's team