Down goes Auburn! Gators go on the road to take out No. 1 Tigers

Alex Condon (21) flies in for a dunk along the baseline (UAA Photo)

The first sign that things were about to change came a little more than six minutes into the first half Saturday at Auburn’s Neville Arena, a place they call “The Jungle” because Tiger fans tend to take leave of their sanity for about two hours. When the Tigers get it going, who’s more intimidating: Bruce Pearl’s collection of NBA clones or 9,101 crazies, many of whom arrive at the arena semi-greased from one too many adult beverages? 

Auburn spent the first few minutes looking every bit the No. 1 team in the country. The Tigers seemingly couldn’t miss a shot, Florida couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the end of the pier and the fans were about to heave up a lung they were yelling so loud. It was 15-5 when the Gators showed real signs of life. 

It started with a pass from Denzel Aberdeen to Alex Condon at the foul line. Three dribbles to his left and Condon was on the wing, taking Dylan Cardwell with him. Tommy Haugh was at the top of the key, guarded by Chaney Johnson, who left Haugh to double up on Condon. 

Major mistake. 

Condon pivoted and Haugh went back door, taking Condon’s bounce pass in stride. He elevated and threw down a 2-handed dunk. The Gators were still down by eight, but the entire demeanor of the team seemed to change on that play. 

A couple of minutes later, there was another dunk by the Gators, this one by Condon on an alley-oop from Aberdeen. That made it 20-13 and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to measure momentum that was shifting in Florida’s favor.

On Florida’s next possession, Auburn tried to double team Walter Clayton Jr. deep against the sideline. Clayton spotted freshman Urban Klavzar cross court, jumped over the impending double team and rifled a pass to Klavzar for the first of three 3-pointers he would hit in the game. The net hardly rippled as Auburn’s lead shriveled down to 20-16.

With 9:41 left in the half, Klavzar showed he’s more than just a lights out shooter. He found Sam Alexis at the top of the key and the 6-9 junior nailed a three. That was followed up by a Will Richard 3-pointer for Florida’s first lead at 23-22 with 8:38 left in the first half.

The No. 1 team in the nation was wilting. The No. 6 team in the nation, the one that looked like it had been run over by a truck a week ago in Knoxville, was taking on the look of a Final Four team. In the final 5:40 of the half Clayton scored 13 of Florida’s final 21 points to send the Gators into the locker room with a 48-38 lead.

From that 20-point turnaround in the first half to a second half when the Gators led by as many as 21 points, this was a statement game for both teams. For Florida (20-3, 7-3 SEC) this 90-81 win was proof that when the Gators zone out distractions such as a wild and crazy crowd, make a few shots and rebound the basketball, they are as good as any team in the entire country.

For Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC), it was a wakeup call, proof that the Tigers can’t bring anything less than their A-game if they intend to win that elusive national championship, one of the few things remaining on Bruce Pearl’s basketball bucket list.

“Give Florida credit,” Pearl said after the Tigers dropped their first SEC game of the season. “… I don’t know that I made our team understand how important this game was to Florida in the sense that it could be a Final Four team. If they lose this game, they’re four behind us in the league. All right, now they’re only two … They just came in here like they had to win it. That’s how they played every possession and so they just played hard, they just played better, they played more desperately than we did.

“We did not look like the number one team in the country. We didn’t act like the number one team in the country. We didn’t prepare like it and as a result we got beat.”

The Tigers were beaten by a Florida team that was down a starter for the second straight game. The Gators beat Vanderbilt by 11 back on Tuesday when Clayton had to miss the game while recovering from an ankle sprained against Tennessee. Saturday, second-leading scorer and best defender Alijah Martin was relegated to riding the pine in his civvies due to the lingering effects of a hip pointer suffered in the Vanderbilt win earlier in the week.

In Martin’s absence, the Gators reveled in sharing the basketball. Five Gators scored in double figures – Clayton 19, Condon 17, Haugh 16, Richard 12 and Aberdeen 10. Klavzar hit all three of his 3-point shots for nine.  The Gators finished with 22 assists on 31 made baskets with Clayton finishing with nine, Condon four and Haugh three.

“The ball was definitely moving around great today,” Clayton said. “Guys were just hitting shots. Urb [Klavzar] was hitting shots. Zel [Aberdeen] was hitting shots. Will [Richard] was hitting shots. Condo [Condon] and the bigs were hitting shots. That’s good execution on our part, and that’s where a lot of the assists came from.”

Pearl admitted post game that the Auburn defensive strategy was to take Clayton out of the game, strategy that backfired in a very big way. When the Gators needed scoring in the first half, Clayton lit Auburn up for 16, hitting 5-6 shots overall and 3-4 from the 3-point line. Auburn tightened things up in the second half and made it more difficult for Clayton to squeeze off shots. Clayton took only four second half shots, made one, a 3-pointer.

Instead of launching shots, however, Clayton involved teammates with seven assists.

“Our game plan was to try to get the ball out of his hands and after the first couple of possessions you would never know that was our game plan,” Pearl said.

Once past those first few possessions, this was the Florida team that can beat any team in the country. The Gators played with focus, intensity and unselfishness. It showed in execution at both ends of the court. 

It also showed in Florida’s ability to zone out the crowd. A week ago against Tennessee, it was clear early on that Vol fans got under the skin of the Gators. Not so against Auburn, even though the crowd was whipped into a frenzy when the Tigers jumped out to big leads early that had the fan base anticipating a blowout.

“The crowd is just insane,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “You make one mistake and the place is going nuts. Again, I think the biggest key was the mental toughness of our team. We just executed for 37 minutes.”

Auburn is the second No. 1 team the Gators have taken out this season. They beat Tennessee by 30 at the O-Dome back on January 7. The win against Auburn marked the first time Florida has beaten a No. 1 team on the road.

Two wins against No. 1 teams, one of which is on the road, should help the Gators when the NCAA seeds its 64-team field in March.

“It’s a huge win for us,” Golden said. “It’s a really big win for us. Obviously, it’s a needle-mover in terms of NCAA seeding. It’s a needle-mover in terms of where we finish in the SEC. I’d be hard-pressed to believe there’s going to be another club that’s going to be able to come in here in conference play and get a win.”

Game notes: Condon had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists and a steal. Haugh just missed a double-double. He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and a steal … Clayton finished with 19 points, six rebounds, nine assists, one blocked shot and one steal … The Gators went 13-33 from the 3-point line (39.4 percent) and 48.4 percent overall (31-64) ... Auburn's Johni Broome, the leading candidate for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, had 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots ... The Gators held Chad Baker-Mazara, who came into the game averaging 13 a game, to six points.

SEC Basketball

Saturday’s scores

No. 6 FLORIDA (20-3, 7-3 SEC) 90, No. 1 Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC) 80

No. 3 Alabama (20-3, 9-1 SEC) 85, Arkansas (14-9, 3-7 SEC) 81

No. 4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC) 70, Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7 SEC) 52

No. 10 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3 SEC) 67, No. 15 Missouri (17-6, 6-4 SEC) 64

No. 14 Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 SEC) 80, South Carolina (10-13, 0-10 SEC) 57

No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5 SEC) 76, Georgia (16-8, 4-7 SEC) 75

No. 25 Ole Miss (18-6, 7-4 SEC) 72, LSU (12-11, 1-9 SEC) 70

Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5 SEC) 86, Texas (15-9, 3-7 SEC) 78

Tuesday’s games

No. 6 FLORIDA (20-3, 7-3 SEC) at No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5 SEC)

No. 3 Alabama (20-3, 9-1 SEC) at Texas (15-9, 4-7 SEC)

No. 4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC) at No. 14 Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 SEC)

Georgia (16-8, 4-7 SEC) at No. 10 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3 SEC)

Wednesday’s games

Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7 SEC) at No. 15 Missouri (17-6, 6-4 SEC)

No. 25 Ole Miss (18-6, 7-4 SEC) at South Carolina (10-13, 0-10 SEC)

LSU (12-11, 1-9 SEC) at Arkansas (14-9, 3-7 SEC)

Saturday, February 15

South Carolina (10-13, 0-10 SEC) at No. 6 FLORIDA (20-3, 7-3 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (21-2, 9-1 SEC) at No. 3 Alabama (20-3, 9-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (17-6, 6-6 SEC) No. 4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC)

Arkansas (14-9, 3-7 SEC) at No. 10 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3 SEC)

No. 14 Kentucky (16-7, 5-5 SEC) at Texas (15-9, 4-7 SEC)

No. 15 Missouri (17-6, 6-4 SEC) at Georgia (16-8, 4-7 SEC)

No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 6-6 SEC) at No. 25 Ole Miss (18-6, 7-4 SEC)

LSU (12-11, 1-9 SEC) at Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7 SEC)