Scouting report: What to know about Florida ahead of matchup with Auburn

Coming off a dominant victory over Oklahoma, Auburn basketball will host its second top 10 matchup this season against No. 6 Florida.

The Tigers current 14-game winning streak has been anchored by back-to-back SEC player of the week Johni Broome, who’s averaging a double-double on the season.

Sitting at 21-1 overall and 9-0 in SEC play, Auburn is the only school in the SEC still undefeated in conference play.

Here’s a closer look at Florida as they look to look stop the Tigers win streak on the road:

The season so far

Florida enters this game with a 19-3 record, dropping three conference games to Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.

The Gators best victories this season comes against Arkansas, Texas and the then No.1 Tennessee. Florida currently sits fifth in KenPom’s efficiency rankings.

Florida is 4-3 in Quad 1 games and a perfect 6-0 in Quad 2 matchups.

Players to watch

In the Gators 86-75 victory over Vanderbilt, they were without leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. due to an ankle injury he sustained at Tennessee.

Clayton is averaging 17.4 points per game and 3.8 assists this season. If Clayton is out this weekend at Auburn, Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin will be huge in the Gators offensive gameplan.

Martin is averaging 15.3 points in his first season with Florida. He’s complimented by guard Will Richard in the backcourt who’s averaging 13.5 points shooting 51.6% from the floor.

Forward Alex Condon has blossomed into the Gators perennial defender averaging 8.0 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 blocks. His 10.8 points per game rounds out his season stats.

Keys to the game

Continue to compete in the trenches

After struggling with rebounding early in SEC play, Auburn seemed to have get it together in its last few conference games outrebounding its opponents.

Florida ranks fourth in the country averaging 43.5 rebounds a game. Led by Condon in the frontcourt, the Tigers will need strong performances from both Broome and Dylan Cardwell to lead in that category.

Scoring surge from Auburn backcourt

With the possibility of Clayton being out for the Gators, Auburn’s backcourt will have to take advantage of how shorthanded Florida will be.

In the Tigers victory over Oklahoma, Denver Jones shot perfectly from the floor finishing with 13 points. In the outing at Ole Miss, Jones scored 16 points knocking down some huge shots down the stretch in the second half.

Despite being acknowledged more as a defender, Jones has cemented himself as one of the best two-way guards in the entire league.

“Just going out there and trying to play basketball and win the game,” Jones said after the Oklahoma victory. “Playing within the flow of the offense, being aggressive when it’s time to be aggressive and looking for my teammates when it’s time to look for my teammates will always lead to team success.”

Tipoff for Auburn and Florida is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN 2.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].