Florida is set to take on Auburn at 4 PM inside the O’Dome in a Final Four rematch from last April. Last time around, the Gators fell behind early before staging a rally and eventually pulling away for good from the Tigers. The Gators would go on to beat Houston to win the national title.
But the cast of characters who defined the Final Four matchup aren’t the cast of characters who will define Saturday’s contest, as the two programs have gone in two different directions.
Florida takes on Auburn in Final Four rematch
We know who is gone from Florida, as the Gators have needed to replace all of their guards from last season. The most notable departure from the Auburn game last year is Alijah Martin, who had two iconic slam dunks to spark Florida’s momentum.
Auburn, too, has had a ton of turnover. Gone are Johni Broome to the NBA and Chad Baker-Mazard to the transfer portal, who had 18 points in the April meeting. Auburn also made a change at head coach as Bruce Peral retired, but thanks to some nepotism, his son Steven Peral is now at the helm.
It has not gone well for Steven Peral and Auburn this year, as the Tigers are 12-7, though they have won three of their last four.
At the core of Auburn’s problems is that they can’t shoot the three (236th in the country), and they don’t close out on opposing three-point shooters (239th in three-point shooting percentage against).
Auburn likes to play uptempo, but it isn’t a lightning-fast team compared to Georgia or Texas A&M.
Florida enters Saturday on a five-game winning streak and is sitting tied for first in the SEC with Texas A&M. The Gators are considered 11.5-point favorites for Saturday as they continue their march towards a regular-season SEC crown.