Image Credit: UAA
Exactly one month after registering their first-ever victory over a No. 1 team outside of the NCAA Tournament and their first win over a top-ranked program in 17 years, the Florida Gators picked up the first road win in program history against the consensus best team in the nation. No. 6 Florida overcame a slow start with a dominant showing on both sides of halftime to complete a 90-81 victory over the No. 1 Auburn Tigers in Auburn, Alabama.
Prior to this season, the Gators’ last win over a No. 1 team came in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. It had been 0-7 against top-ranked teams on the road. The Tigers were a unanimous No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25 poll receiving all 62 first-place votes having gone 10-0 at home with 14 straight wins entering Saturday’s tilt.
When Florida beat then-No. 1 ranked Tennessee at home back on Jan. 7, it became the first team to defeat a top-ranked opponent by 30+ points in 56 years (1968), and the victory marked the third-largest over a No. 1 team in the history of Division I basketball (30 points).
Given the Gators were shorthanded Saturday with redshirt senior guard Alijah Martin (hip) sidelined, it was even more impressive that they became just the fifth team in NCAA history to beat a No. 1 team at home and on the road in the same season. The 2024-25 season is the first in which UF played two different No. 1-ranked teams in the same campaign.
Let’s take a look at what went down with some Fastbreak Takeaways.
It was over when … sophomore forward Thomas Haugh picked a pocket to halt a fastbreak with a steal and immediately raced down the court to patiently get himself open under the hoop for a layup to push Florida ahead 12 points with 45 seconds remaining.
The Gators increased their lead to 19 points early in the second half extending what became a 37-12 scoring stretch across 10+ minutes spanning halftime. Sophomore G Urban Klavžar then hit consecutive 3-pointers boost UF’s advantage to a game-high 21 points with 14:21 remaining. However, the Tigers immediately answered with an extended 18-6 scoring stretch to reduce their deficit to nine points with over 8 minutes left. They would never get closer.
Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen drained a corner 3-pointer to move UF ahead by 16 points with 2:40 remaining, but AU scored five points over 36 seconds as Florida unnecessarily rushed two possessions and missed consecutive attempts at the rim. Auburn also benefitted from a horrific whistle hitting three free throws inside the final minute to reduce its margin of defeat.
First half focus: Shortly after the opening tip off, it looked like the Gators were going to get blown out of the arena. The Tigers used an 8-0 run to take an early 14-5 lead as the visitors started 2 of 9 from the field. And then UF turned it on. Starting with a 12-2 run to take its first lead at 23-22, Florida got itself right back in the game. A 14-2 run punctuated by two 3-pointers and 10 total points by Walter Clayton Jr. pushed the Gators ahead by six, and they ultimately closed the half with an extended 23-7 scoring stretch to lead 48-38 at the break. Clayton and Haugh combined for 26 points in the period as UF shot 7 of 13 from deep and 9 of 11 from the charity stripe.
Exceptional efforts: Clayton only scored 3 points on 1 of 5 shooting in the second half, but he still posted a team-high 19 points with a game-high 9 assists and 6 rebounds while hitting 4 of 8 triples. Haugh was inefficient from the floor but cutch from the free-throw line hitting 7 of 8 attempts to go along with 9 boards. Bash brother and fellow sophomore F Alex Condon was excellent in the second half posting a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds with 4 dimes. Senior G Will Richard also scored 12 points with 5 boards despite experiencing early foul trouble. Not to be overlooked was Aberdeen, who hit two key 3-pointers and scored 10 points in a spot start for Marin.
Odds & ends: Florida improved to 84-92 all-time against Auburn with a 28-58 mark on the road … Gators head coach Todd Golden is now 2-2 against his mentor, Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl … Saturday marked UF’s first-ever road win as a top-10 team against a top-10 team (1-11) … Florida is now 4-17 all-time against No. 1 teams, 1-7 on the road … Clayton extended his program record with a made 3-pointer in his 45th consecutive game … the Gators under Golden improved to 48-9 when leading at halftime, 55-5 when leading with 5 minutes left, 40-8 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 53-7 when outshooting an opponent, 48-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range and 28-12 when shooting 75% or better from the free-throw line … UF under Golden also picked up rare wins when being matched or beaten on rebounds (18-23) and being matched or outscored off the bench (23-17) … Florida won the fastbreak battle 14-3 but got outscored 38-30 in the paint … UF registered 22 assists on 31 baskets (71%) and nearly won by double digits despite taking six fewer field goal attempts
What it means: The Gators entered the season with enough talent to make the Elite Eight a possibility. After the first few games of SEC play, the Final Four was seen as aspirational yet achievable. Florida should now be considered a legitimate national championship contender. It has now proven through 23 games that it can win with offense or defense, when trailing or maintaining an advantage, home or away, at full strength or shorthanded. Golden’s team just beat the unanimous best team in the nation at their own place down one of his two best players. And while it got testy late, UF did it with relative ease.
Top-to-bottom, the SEC may be better this season than ever before. Florida’s only losses are to a top-10 Tennessee team (it already beat by 30 points) off the worst shooting performance in program history, a Missouri team by one point in a game it should have won, and on the road a top-10 Kentucky team in which both sides produced two of the best offensive performances of the entire season.
The Gators are talented in the backcourt with enough shooters on the wing to overcome foul trouble plus long and talented in the frontcourt with players who bust their asses in the paint to create and prevent second-chance opportunities. Perhaps most important of all, there is a calmness that the senior guards exert over the younger forwards when times get tough. This team is capable of winning the national title.
What’s next? Florida will remain on the road when it visits Mississippi State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN2.
