College Men's Basketball Game of the Week: No. 6 Florida vs. No. 1 Auburn

This season, the SEC has undoubtedly been the best men’s college basketball conference, featuring nine teams in the current AP Top 25. This weekend, we will get another classic.

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers host the No. 6 Florida Gators on Saturday.

Auburn enters the matchup with a 21-1 record and a perfect 9-0 mark in the conference. Its last game was a 98-70 victory over unranked Oklahoma.

Florida comes in with a slightly worse, but still impressive, record of 19-3, with a 6-3 record in the SEC. Its last game was a win, 86-75 over Vanderbilt. However, they lost to the top-ten Tennessee Volunteers in a 64-44 beatdown on Feb. 1.

This game features two of the SEC’s top scorers and best players overall. Tigers’ senior Johni Broome averages 18.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.8 blocks, leading the team in all four categories. The forward also shoots 52% from the field and 63.8% from the free-throw line.

The Gators’ Walter Clayton Jr. is Florida’s best in points per game with 17.4 and assists per game with 3.8. Like Broome, the senior guard is dependable from the field with a 45% clip and from the free-throw line with an 86.4% clip.

Both teams also feature great supporting casts. In addition to Broome, Auburn has four players that average double-digit points per game: guards Chad Baker-Mazara, Tahaad Pettiford, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones. Their point-per-game totals range from 10.4 to 13. Baker-Mazara also leads the team in steals per game with 1.3.

Florida also boasts three double-digit scorers alongside Clayton Jr. Guard Alijah Martin averages the most with 15.3. Guard Will Richard posts 13.4 while averaging a team-leading 1.9 steals. Forward Alex Condon averages the least at 10.8 points but makes up for it by leading the team in rebounds per game (8) and blocks per game (1.5).

This will be Auburn and Florida’s only meeting during the regular season, with big tournament implications on the line. A win for Auburn helps them reach double-digit wins in the conference and moves them closer to the top seed in March’s SEC tournament.

Meanwhile, a win on the road for Florida would not only be a big upset but could shake things up big time in the SEC. As of now, the Gators are in a three-way tie for third place in the SEC standings with No. 15 Missouri and No. 10 Texas A&M and are a spot behind No. 3 Alabama for second place.

Beating Auburn could give them sole possession of third place in the conference depending on how other matchups go, and can really help their chances of a top seed in the SEC tournament.

The game will be played at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. and broadcast on ESPN2. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. EST.

Adam Pietrzak is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu.