AUBURN, Ala. – At this time a year ago, Zep Jasper was preparing to play his first SEC game. Now, having gone through a full conference slate and won an SEC regular season championship, he knows what to expect going against arguably the toughest league in the country.
Next Game:
Florida
Dec. 27, 2022
6 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"Play time is over," Jasper told his teammates. "Now we're going against the big dogs. From 1 through 13, no matter who is on the front of the jersey, you're in the SEC now. It's time to play."
"If you look at the league, we've got six teams ranked in the top 25 in the country, three in the top 10," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "And then you've got a team like Missouri who just had a great win over Illinois. The league is just better."
Auburn, ranked No. 20 after finishing 10-2 in the non-conference, will open SEC play at home against Florida on Wednesday night. The Tigers are 4-4 all-time in SEC openers under Pearl and are coming off a 70-55 victory over LSU in last year's league opener.
The Florida series has proven difficult for Auburn in recent years with the Gators winning 14 of the last 17 contests dating back to 2010. Though Florida is off to a 7-5 start with some close losses in the non-conference, this year's matchup will once again be pivotal as both teams were picked to finish in the top half of the league.
"We were picked basically fifth in the league, and Florida was picked between fifth and seventh," Pearl said. "So, this is an important game because I do think Florida will be a team that will compete for the top five or six spots in our league and so will we.
"Defense has carried us. It needs to continue. With Florida, it starts and ends with (Colin) Castleton. He has had his way with us since he got into the league."
Wednesday's SEC opener will tip off at 6 p.m. CT from Neville 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 ESPN2.
PLAYER TO WATCH: JAYLIN WILLIAMS
Senior forward Jaylin Williams has turned in his biggest scoring outputs of the season in two of the last three contests for the Tigers. Williams registered a game-high tying 18 points along with eight rebounds in the team's road win at Washington last Wednesday. He also led Auburn in the plus-minus (+24) column against the Huskies. Williams previously scored a season-high 20 points versus Georgia State on Dec. 14. This year, he is averaging the most minutes on the court (25.6) with 30+ minutes of play against Saint Louis and UW.
INSIDE THE SERIES: FLORIDA
Auburn leads 90-82 in the all-time series with Florida and is 57-27 all-time on its home court against the Gators. The two teams split the regular season series last year, each protecting their respective home courts. However, Florida is 5-2 at Neville Arena since 2011. Auburn has only beaten the Gators three times in the last decade.
A GOLDEN RETURN
It will be a reunion between Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and Florida head coach Todd Golden, who previously served as director of basketball operations and assistant coach on the Plains from 2014-16. This will be the first meeting between the two on opposite sidelines.
Pearl was the head coach of the USA Open Team that won a gold medal at the 2009 Maccabiah Games that featured Golden and Auburn assistant coach Steven Pearl as college players from Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Tennessee respectively.