Affirmed: Gators have legitimate NCAA tournament aspirations

Think of Florida’s 81-65 win over 12th-ranked Auburn Saturday at the O-Dome as affirmation. Affirmation that the Gators (16-7, 6-4 SEC) really do have a good team that is capable of playing with and beating anyone on the schedule in the ever so tough Southeastern Conference. Affirmation that the Gators have evolved from a team capable of outscoring people into one capable of stopping them cold defensively as well. Affirmation that the Gators can hold onto a big lead.

From Bruce Pearl’s perspective, affirmation that the Florida Gators got the right guy when they hired his former assistant Todd Golden two years ago after Mike White abruptly resigned and took the Georgia job almost in the same breath.  

“He’s one of the best young coaches in all of college basketball and he’s here at Florida,” Pearl said after his Tigers (19-5, 8-3 SEC) were flogged at both ends of the court by a team that played as if it was on a search and destroy mission.

Almost as quickly as Mike White was gone, Todd Golden was hired by Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. Whatever doubts Stricklin and whoever else was involved in the hiring process might have had, they were erased rather quickly when they called Pearl for a recommendation.

“One of my messages was ‘Stop! You tell me who’s better? Who’s got a better basketball mind. Who has a better relationship with the kids? Who’s got a better family? Okay, maybe you’re not sure if he’s got enough experience. That’s fine.’”

Apparently Golden had plenty enough experience and the call to Pearl was simply to affirm what Stricklin and his search people already knew.

“I didn’t have to convince anybody at Florida,” Pearl said. “I think they knew what they had.”

If beating Kentucky at Rupp ten days earlier was the signature win that had been missing from Golden’s coaching resume, then beating Auburn in blowout fashion was affirmation that the Gators have truly arrived. This wasn’t won in Florida’s typical white knuckles, hold on and pray someone misses a shot or two at the end fashion. This was bell-to-bell beatdown in which the Gators never trailed.  

Best of all, from Florida’s perspective, the Gators throttled Auburn’s offense at one end of the court with relentless defensive effort while preventing the Tigers from turning the game into a transition sprint by protecting the ball at the other end.

“We had only one steal,” Pearl said. “We turn people over 13 or 14 times a game and we score off our turnovers. We only had seven turnovers. So what we were doing defensively did not disrupt them.”

Florida’s defense, on the other hand, was disruptive enough to hold Auburn 18 points below its season average. Auburn shot only 17.6 percent (3-17) from the 3-point line. The Tigers turned the ball over 15 times which the Gators turned into 16 points at the other end. Led by Micah Handlogten, who blocked four shots and altered numerous others, the Gators turned Auburn’s outstanding front line very average. The trio of 6-10 Johni Broome, 6-11 Dylan Cardwell and 6-8 Jaylin Williams, who have been terrorizing interior defenses in the SEC, combined for only 24 points and seven rebounds. The Gators were credited with 10 steals.

To beat Auburn, Golden knew he would need a strong effort from Handlogten and he got it. Handlogten scored only four points, but with Riley Kugel (22 points), Walter Clayton Jr. (20) and Zyon Pullin (19) routinely making the Auburn guards look silly, a big offensive game wasn’t necessary for the 7-1 sophomore transfer from Marshall, who finished with nine rebounds, one assist, four blocks and three steals.

“We've been challenging him to play with more physicality, and transparently he wasn't good enough against [Texas] A&M that way,” Golden said. “Today I thought he accepted that challenge and really delivered. Great on the glass, really good around the rim – I think it four blocks which is the most he's had in a long time. Listen, their frontcourt is one of the best, if not the best in America. They got Johni, they go Jaylin and then they bring in Dylan Cardwell, who's like one of the biggest winners in college basketball. Chaney (Johnson) provides good minutes for them. So they just keep running these really good players at you. So a huge challenge but I thought Micah answered the bell really well today."

Handlogten’s defense made the game easier for UF defenders on the perimeter.

“So I definitely think Micah – he’s just coming into his own – obviously had a great game today,” Clayton said. “I think the main thing with him is just being tough. Today he was tough, so I think that was a big part of it. He had a great game.” 

The first 2:15 of the game was a foretelling of things to come. Clayton nailed a 3-ball 21 seconds after the opening tip and Pullin schooled the Auburn guards off the bounce twice for a 7-0 Florida lead. Following the Clayton 3-pointer, Handlogten altered a Broome shot at the rim and grabbed the rebound. On Auburn’s next two possessions, Handlogten outfought everybody for rebounds that led to scores at the other end.

The 7-point margin to start the game was as close as Auburn ever came to making things competitive. A 3-pointer by Pullin with 12:17 to go in the first half gave the Gators a 19-9 lead, worth noting because Auburn wasn’t able to get the UF margin below 10 the rest of the way.

Oh, the Auburn faithful did have one glimmer of hope and that came on a 7-2 run that whittled the Florida lead to 32-21 with 4:19 left in the first half, but the Gators countered with a 14-5 burst for a 16-point lead at the break, 42-26.

This is where the Gators have had their problems this season. Big leads have had this tendency to dissipate after halftime, so Golden challenged the Gators to come out with the same intensity they began the game with to start the final 20 minutes.

“One of the things that Duke Werner, our trainer, said to me at halftime, was ‘Hey, when Billy [Donovan] was in this situation, he would tell the guys we want to play all day, don’t worry about the clock, we want to keep this thing going and build the lead’, and I thought that was a really good point, and something to think about,” Golden said. “In the second half, was hey let’s not be satisfied being up 16, let’s try to get this thing to 25; let’s not worry about the clock, let’s play, let’s play, let’s play, and I thought we did a good job of that today.”

Auburn got the first two points of the second half on a couple of free throws but all that did was delay the inevitable. A short jumper by Tyrese Samuel gave the Gators a 49-28 lead with 18:40 to go in the game. Pullin made it a 22-point game with 16:33 to go. Kugel made it 25 with a 3-pointer at the 15:32 mark and following a Cardwell dunk, got fouled while draining another three, then finished things off with the free throw to make it 62-35 with 15:06 left.

Any hope Auburn had of eradicating the Florida lead and making a stirring comeback victory was ended in first five minutes of the second half.  

“I knew they’d start well both halves,” Pearl said. “I just didn’t think it would get away from us as much as it did.”

Florida’s largest second half lead was 29 points. It was 27 (75-48) with 9:04 to go on a pair of Kugel free throws but even though Florida didn’t score again from the field, the outcome was never in doubt. The game got a bit chippy as Auburn tried to turn the final nine minutes into a rock fight but the only thing the Tigers accomplished was to shoot a bunch of free throws and trim 11 points off the UF lead.

It wasn’t a case of the Gators losing their poise or trying to milk the clock.

“We were just winning by a lot, so as long as we didn't stop winning by a lot, I was gonna be okay,” Golden said. “We were making our free throws. We were playing well, we missed some tip-ins, some second chances. I didn't think we went too much stall mode. It was more of just missing some shots. We were still getting to the line. That ain't gonna make me upset today my boy."

Forget the last 9:04. The only chance Auburn had to make the game competitive was go ultra-aggressive. It had a street mugging feel to it as the clock wound down but at no point was Auburn going to mount a successful rally. Auburn never got the score closer 16 so there was no anxiety or wobbly knees either on the court or the sideline.   

For 31 minutes on the offensive end of the floor and for all 40 defensively, Florida played like a team that will be marching to the madness when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee announces the 68-team field in a few weeks. Unquestionably, this was the best game the Gators have played all season because the defense seemed to catch up with the offense against a team that Golden believes can make the Final Four.

“If you were to ask me, you know, is Auburn in the mix of teams that could win a national championship, I’d say hell yeah,” Golden said. “They’re playing as well as anybody – top-10 offense, top-3 defense, a lot of continuity on the roster, a lot of really, really good players, you know, and then we come out and we play our best game of the year against them, and obviously it’s in the same bucket as the Kentucky win.”

As important as it was for the Gators to knock off Kentucky at Rupp Arena, it was far more important to beat Auburn Saturday. Whether it’s the Associated Press, NCAA Net Rankings or KenPom analytics, Auburn is more highly regarded than Kentucky so this win will have a more profound effect on Florida’s NCAA Tournament chances.

You won’t have to convince Bruce Pearl, not after the way the Gators manhandled his team Saturday. His Tigers lost not because they played so poorly, but because Florida played so well.

“Give Florida all the credit,” Pearl said. “To blame my team because we didn’t do this or we didn’t do this would take away from one of the top five teams in the league. I think, been through and seeing most everybody, Florida will finish in the top five.”

Next up: The Gators will be home Tuesday night to face LSU, which lost to Alabama, 109-92 Saturday.

Saturday by the numbers: Kugel had 22 points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal … Clayton had 20 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. He was 3-6 from the 3-point line and 9-10 from the foul line … Pullin had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal … The Gators had 43 rebounds, 16 on the offensive end.

Pearl on Florida’s guards: “Florida’s guards are good, like really good. As good as anybody’s. When Pullin plays … I don’t know what guard is better than Pullin when he has a 1-on-1 matchup. You tell me who’s better than Pullin in his 1-on-1 matchup. You tell me who’s a better scorer than Clayton. I don’t know if they’re going to lose those matchups very often. And then you know Kugel’s playing better now coming off the bench. He’s going to win most of those matchups.”

Tournament math: The Gators have 16 wins overall, six in SEC play. A split of the last eight games (four home, four away) will get UF to 20 overall wins and 10 in SEC play, which should punch their tournament ticket. The Gators are 10-1 at home this season.

SEC BASKETBALL

Saturday’s scores: FLORIDA (16-7, 6-4 SEC) 81, No. 12 Auburn (19-5, 8-3 SEC) 61; Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4 SEC) 85, No. 6 Tennessee (17-6, 7-3 SEC) 69; No. 15 South Carolina (21-3, 9-2 SEC) 75, Vanderbilt (6-17, 1-9 SEC) 60; No. 16 Alabama (17-7, 9-2 SEC) 109, LSU (12-11, 4-6 SEC) 92; Gonzaga (18-6) 89, No. 17 Kentucky (16-7) 85; Mississippi State (16-8, 5-6 SEC) 75, Missouri (8-16, 0-11 SEC) 61; Arkansas (12-11, 3-7 SEC) 78, Georgia 14-10, 4-7 SEC) 75

Tuesday’s games: LSU (12-11, 4-6 SEC) at FLORIDA (16-7, 6-4 SEC); Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4 SEC) at Vanderbilt (6-17, 1-9 SEC); Ole Miss (18-5, 5-5 SEC) at No. 17 Kentucky (16-7, 6-4 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: No. 6 Tennessee (17-6, 7-3 SEC) at Arkansas (12-11, 3-7 SEC); No. 15 South Carolina (21-3, 9-2 SEC) at No. 12 Auburn (19-5, 8-3 SEC)

SEC in KenPom analytics as of February 10: 5. Auburn; 6. Alabama; 7. Tennessee; 26. FLORIDA; 27. Kentucky; 34. Mississippi State; 38. Texas A&M; 44. South Carolina; 60. Ole Miss; 84. Georgia; 86. LSU; 117. Arkansas; 144. Missouri; 210. Vanderbilt