It’s only fitting that the two best SEC teams will battle for a spot in the Championship game. While Florida finished just a game behind Auburn in the conference standings, the Gators proved just how good they were, handing the Tigers their first SEC and home loss of the season. Since the initial matchup in early February, Florida and Auburn have looked like the teams to beat for the National Title. And even though Florida hasn’t been the most dominant team in the last couple of rounds, the Gators have continued to find ways to pick up wins.
Now against Auburn, Todd Golden and his squad face arguably their toughest test of the season. The Gators have won their last 10 games, but in a rematch against a conference foe, anything could happen. Florida has the offensive firepower to beat any team in the country, but it will take a solid team effort to take down the top seed in this tournament. Here are three keys to Florida getting past Auburn and advancing to the title game for the first time since 2007.
Turn turnovers into points.
Trying to outscore Florida is hard enough without the Gators racking up points off turnovers. Florida averages close to 15 points per game off turnovers, though the Gators have struggled recently and are only averaging 12 over their last five games. These are points that Florida has to have against an Auburn team that refuses to turn the ball over. The Tigers averaged 9.3 turnovers per game this season, one of the lowest numbers in the country. Florida forced a decent amount of turnovers - 11.7 per game - but against Auburn, the Gators will need to up the defensive pressure and make things uncomfortable for the Tigers. Any extra points Florida can muster against this stingy Auburn defense, the easier it will be to pull off the win.
Get hot from deep
Florida’s offense is at its best when the Gators are consistently connecting from three. This season, Florida is averaging 9.9 made threes per game - making just under 36 percent from behind the arc. Auburn, on the other hand, is one of the best teams when it comes to defending the perimeter. The Tigers allow only six made threes per game at 29.6 percent - the 11th-lowest percentage in the country. Luckily for Florida, it has some experience against this daunting Auburn defense. The Gators knocked in 13 threes in the upset win on Auburn’s home court when these two teams met back in February. No team has made more three’s against the Tigers in a game this season, and Florida is one of only two teams to make more than nine shots from behind the arc against Auburn. If the Gators can make shots from deep, it will open up the rest of the offense, which should allow Florida to eke out a win.
Keep Auburn off the offensive glass
One of the only areas where this Florida team struggles is keeping opposing teams off the offensive glass. The Gators, while being one of the top rebounding (41.9 rpg) teams in the country, haven’t been able to consistently keep teams off the offensive glass. This season, Florida’s defense allowed 11.5 offensive rebounds per game, and luckily for the Gators, the offense was usually strong enough to overcome those extra-scoring opportunities from its opponents. But Auburn has been one of the better offensive-rebounding teams in the country this year - averaging nearly 12 per game. However, the Tigers have been much better over their last five games, where they are averaging close to 13 offensive rebounds per game - which Auburn has turned into 16 points per game, accounting for 21.2 percent of its points. If Florida allows Auburn to have this kind of success, then the Gators are going to be nearly perfect on the offensive end.
Auburn dominated the offensive glass in its first matchup with Florida - pulling in 15 offensive rebounds - but the Gators seemingly couldn’t miss from deep, helping them win on the road. Florida will have a much easier time taking down Auburn for the second time this season if it can limit this major part of the Tigers' offense.