AUBURN, Ala. – When Auburn takes the floor Tuesday night, it will be the first time the Tigers have played inside Auburn Arena in 17 days. The last home game came Feb. 6 against Ole Miss and was followed by three straight road games (Vanderbilt, Kentucky, LSU).
The last time Auburn played three straight road games in league play was in 1997.
It's a welcome return home for the Tigers who have been exceptional in Auburn Arena in recent years, compiling a 52-8 record since the beginning the of 2017-18 season. And while this year has been different because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Auburn is still 6-4 at home with signature wins against Kentucky and Missouri.
A win Tuesday would be another signature win against a Florida team ranked No. 29 in the NET and who has all but secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
"We're getting to ready play a good Florida team, a Florida team that I think has done well against us.," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's all about matchups, and I think Coach (Mike) White has done a good job with his team against my teams. When we won back in 2019, we snapped a 21-out-of-22-game losing streak."
After Auburn gave up 104 points at LSU on Saturday, Pearl is wanting to see his team step up on the defensive end over this final stretch. That challenge begins this week with Florida.
"We scored 80 points (against LSU), so that wasn't the problem," Pearl said. "The problem was defensively, keeping guys in front of us. Cam Thomas, Javonte Smart and Trendon Watford are all really good players, and they all played really well. I just didn't think that going in that they were that much better than we were, but they played it that night.
"Sometimes you can get excited about a team. LSU is one of those nights you've got to get excited about a player. With Florida, who's going to get excited about playing Tre Mann? Who's going to get excited about playing Colin Castleton, the transfer from Michigan?"
Tuesday's game against the Gators is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT from Auburn Arena. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game will also be televised on ESPN with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes on the call.
AUTLIVE
The Bruce Pearl Family Foundation is once again continuing the fight against cancer with the sixth year of AUTLIVE, Auburn basketball's fight against cancer. The best way to beat cancer is to detect it early and be able to fight it on your home court. This year's AUTLIVE game will take place in Auburn Arena on Saturday, Feb. 27 against Tennessee.
AUTLIVE raises the awareness of cancer prevention and detection while t-shirt sales and donations raise money to benefit cancer patients and their local hospitals.
For more information, please visit AUTLIVE.com.
Player to Watch: Jaylin Williams
Jaylin Williams may be Auburn's most versatile player on the court. The sophomore has led the Tigers in scoring six times and rebounding six times, both tied for the team lead. He's also paced Auburn in blocks a team-best 12 times and leads the team with 33 blocks on the season. The biggest area of improvement has come from beyond the arc where Williams has knocked down 29 3-pointers after making just one last season.
Inside the Series: Florida
The Tigers and Gators are set to resume a series that dates back to 1927. Auburn leads the all-time series, 89-80. However, Florida has won 25 of the last 30.
In 2019, Auburn defeated Florida twice, snapping a streak of 21 of 22 victories by the Gators.
Head coach Bruce Pearl is 10-10 vs. Florida in his head coaching career. Against the Gators, Pearl is 6-2 at home, 3-7 on the road and 1-1 in neutral-site games. Pearl was 8-5 against Florida at Tennessee.
Tuesday's matchup will feature two of the only three teams in the SEC without a senior on its roster: Auburn, Florida and LSU.
Together We Will
In collaboration with the Auburn Athletics Task Force on Inclusion and Race Relations, Auburn Athletics announced the Together We Will initiative in September. Auburn Athletics has teamed up with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity with the goal of supporting and advancing the Auburn Family in its quest to shape a more diverse, inclusive and equitable campus community.
The Together We Will Scholarship was created to support the University's efforts to achieve a robust and diverse enrollment of students while enhancing access, affordability and academic quality.
Auburn athletic teams have incorporated the Auburn Unity Symbol on their uniforms, equipment, warm-up gear or travel bags. The logo serves as a visual representation of people from all walks of life coming together and uniting as one.
For more information, please visit TigerGiving.org.
Welcome home: Tigers face Florida in Auburn Arena
