It’s incredibly rare for a team to have two wins over a No. 1 team in a year. But the Florida Gators (19-3, 6-3 SEC) have the chance to do so. In the first week of SEC play, they got one of the season's most impressive wins, beating previous No. 1 Tennessee, 73-43.
In that game, Alijah Martin led the team with 18 points, while Walter Clayton Jr., scoring on the year overall with 17.4 ppg, had seven points and five assists. On the season overall, Clayton has played at an All-American level, recently being named as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award for best point guard in the nation.
However, Clayton and Martin have both been dealing with injuries as of late, with Clayton missing the team’s 86-75 win over Vanderbilt, while Martin got hurt in the game as well. The good news is that the Gators will have at least one of them for Saturday’s game at No. 1 Auburn.
Florida’s Walter Clayton is expected to play tomorrow against Auburn and Todd Golden told @TheFieldOf68 he is optimistic that Alijah Martin (hip) will also play, but told Field of 68 that it’ll depend how he feels tomorrow prior to the game. He'll be listed as questionable on…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) February 7, 2025
Florida will need everyone healthy and available to have a chance to pull off the road upset. The Tigers have won 14 straight games and have just one loss on the season overall, losing at No. 2 Duke. They’ve been dominant in SEC play, coming off a 28-point home win over an Oklahoma squad projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
Even with star big man Johni Broome was out for a few games with an ankle injury of his own, Auburn continued to win. The metrics and numbers have them as a historically good team, led by its frontcourt.
But if there’s a potential weak spot, it’s with the guards when they’re not making shots. One of the few teams that can exploit that is Florida is Clayton, and Martin goes off. We’ll see Saturday afternoon whether they’re up to the task to get another win over the top team in the nation.