After a commanding 81-65 victory over No. 12 Auburn (19-5, 8-3 SEC) at the Stephen O’Connell Center on Saturday night, the Florida Gators advanced to 16-7 (6-4 SEC). The Gators defeated Auburn at home for the fifteenth time in a row; their previous four victories were over teams ranked in the top 25 the Tigers.
“Greetings from Florida. Bruce Pearl, the head coach of Auburn, said of the Florida team following the game, “They played great, they were really well prepared, they were more physical, they didn’t turn the ball over, they took care of the ball.”
The Gators turned the ball over just seven times in the contest while forcing 15 Auburn turnovers, ten of which were steals.
The trio of Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton, and Riley Kugel combined for 61 of Florida’s 81 points (75%). Senior guard Zyon Pullin had 19 points, six rebounds, and three assists vs Auburn, and was particularly great in the first 10 minutes of the game. Pullin has become the fifth Gator since 1996-97 to score double figures in 20 straight games, joining Anthony Roberson (29), Colin Castleton (24), Kenny Boynton (23) and Udonis Haslem (23).
“Florida’s guards are really good, like really good. Like as good as anyone’s guards,” Pearl said on the Gators’ backcourt. “I don’t know what guards are better than Pullin when he has a one-on-one matchup, you tell me who’s better than Pullin in a one-on-one matchup.”
Junior guard Walter Clayton had 20 points on just nine shot attempts, adding five free throws on five attempts.
“You tell me who’s a better scorer than Clayton,” Pearl said. “I don’t know that their going to lose those matchups very often.”
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel led the Gators in scoring with 22 points off the bench on 7-16 shooting and 3-7 from three-point range. Kugel was more aggressive today, which resulted in three trips to the free throw line where the Orlando native knocked down all five of his attempts.
Coming off the bench, Kugel is clearly going to win most of those matches because he is playing better now, according to Pearl.
In his 56th game as Florida’s coach, Todd Golden recorded his fourth top-25 victory. This made him the quickest coach in UF history as well as the fastest Gator coach in the previous 50 years.
“You got one of the best young coaches in all of college basketball and he’s here at Florida,” Pearl said of Golden. “You got a brilliant young coach, highest character, unbelievable family, kids are playing for him, he cares about the kids, going to do it the right way.”
Pearl claimed that while Florida officials were choosing their next basketball coach, he spoke with them.
Pearl expressed gratitude for the opportunity to speak with certain individuals during their decision-making process. “Who is superior? Can you tell me who’s better? I said, stopping. Who has a better family, who has a better bond with the kids, and who has a better basketball mind? Pearl told Florida officials, “I think they knew what they had, so I didn’t have to convince anyone there.”
Florida won their fifth straight game after putting on their best 40-minute effort of the year on Saturday night, upsetting No. 12 Auburn by a score of 16 points.
Regarding Florida, Pearl stated, “What I think is a top five team in the league, been through, seen almost everybody, and Florida will finish in the top five.”
With a 6-4 conference record, Florida is currently tied with Kentucky for fifth place in the SEC. The Gators will try to keep up their winning streak at the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night against LSU.
