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After their four game winning streak was halted last Saturday against Texas A&M, Florida rebounded to out play the No. 1 team in the SEC. When the visitors struggled all game to get anything going, despite a game-ending 9:40 UF scoring drought, Todd Golden and the Gators still took full advantage and thrashed Auburn 81-65.
Inside the Gators’ Instant Analysis takes a quick look at how the game unfolded.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Both teams entered the locker room. Florida held a 16-point lead, and the Tigers trailed the rest of the game. Auburn would bring the game back down to 16 points with 1:29 left in the game, but by then it was too little too late.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Riley Kugel was electric for this Florida offense. He has embraced his sixth-man role and scored the most points this afternoon with 22. He also grabbed four rebounds and made all five of his free throws.
THESE STATS DON’T LIE: Auburn was woeful from beyond the arc. While the Tigers have shot 33.3% from three this season, they shot just 17.6% tonight going 3-17. Florida did great to prevent the three balls from going in, helping secure the 16-point victory.
THIS MATCHUP PROVIDED KEY: Florida’s defense versus Auburn’s offense off the glass. The Gators took an early lead because of how well they rebounded. The visitors didn’t score their first points until after Florida went up by nine. The Gators ended the game with 27 defensive rebounds while Auburn had just 14 offensive boards.
WHAT A PLAY: After back-to-back great defensive plays by Will Richard, the Gators went on a fast break. Richard found Kugel who slammed it home and extended Florida’s lead to 14.
UP NEXT: The (15-7, 6-4) Gators are back home on Tuesday to take on in-conference opponent (12-11, 4-6) LSU. The Tigers lost earlier today to No. 16 Alabama 109-92.
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