Back in February, Florida Basketball emerged with a relatively easy 90-83 win over then-No. 1 Auburn on the road. Walter Clayton Jr. had 19 points, while Alex Condon had 17.
Currently, Florida is considered a 2.5-point favorite against Auburn in the Final Four, and while there are plenty of reasons to have faith in the Gators to pull out the victory, here are three reasons to have concerns ahead of their rematch in San Antonio.
Florida Basketball: Can Alex Condon Do It Again?
If you go back to the first game, Condon had 10 rebounds and four assists to go with his 17 points. Just as important, he more than handled his own with Johni Broome in the post. Most of the points Broome got were when Condon switched off or someone else was assigned to Broome.
The problem is that since the start of the SEC Tournament, Condon's play has noticeably taken a dip. He has yet to get double-digit rebounds, and only twice has he had double-digit points.
So if his ankle still bothers him and he is not 100%, is the door open for Broome to have a big game?
Can Florida make their free throws again?
When Florida beat Auburn, they shot 15-18 from the free throw line, and one of the hidden subplots in Florida's win over Texas Tech was the Gators going 25-27 from the free throw line.
That is a departure from Florida, which ranks 164th in free throw shooting.
Auburn is a team prone to foul a ton and sends teams to the free-throw line a ton. If Florida can go 20-25, they will do well. If Florida goes something like 14-25, well...
Will the Alamodome impact Walter Clayton Jr.?
One of the grand debates every year at the Final Four is how much of an impact playing in a dome has on shooting. The theory is that the depth perception of shooters is thrown off now that they are playing in a huge football stadium compared to a basketball arena.
Back in 2021, Action Network ran the numbers and found that in the NCAA Tournament, teams shoot 4% lower when playing in a dome compared to an arena and 2% worse than three.
Now, others would argue that the lower shooting percentage is due to having to play better defenses, and there is probably truth to that as well.
The main concern is if Clayton misses a couple of open shots early, will the perceived dome effect get into his head?