AUBURN, Ala. – A strong contingent of family and friends will drive four hours north to Gainesville from Palm Beach, Florida, to see sophomore Elyjah Freeman and the Auburn Tigers take on No. 16 Florida Saturday.
“I’ve got family coming to watch,” said Freeman, who averages nearly 10 points and five rebounds per game. “It means a lot. They’re driving hours to come watch me play. I’m fixing to give it all I’ve got. Effort and energy are going to be there.”
After their challenging non-conference schedule which featured four top-10 opponents, Freeman and the Tigers feel prepared for the defending national champion Gators.
“We’ve been here before, playing these high-ranked teams,” Freeman said. “Paying attention to detail from day one, days and hours before the game, little things that build up to the game matter.”
The Tigers have won three of their last four SEC games, including Tuesday’s 78-66 road win at Ole Miss, in which Auburn outrebounded the Rebels 42-26.
Auburn’s prowess on the boards will be tested Saturday against the nation’s top rebounding team.
With its frontline of 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu, 6-11 Alex Condon and 6-9 Thomas Haugh returning from last year’s title team, Florida leads the country in rebounds (46.53), rebounding margin (15.8) and offensive rebounds (17.16).
“It’s the best team in our league by a pretty significant margin,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “One of the most imposing, physical teams in college basketball. A great opportunity against a really quality team. It’s going to require a different level of toughness, physicality, want and desire.”
To emphasize his point, Pearl will base playing time on rebounding effort.
“Anyone that doesn’t check out in this game is not going to play,” he said. “If you miss checkouts in this game, just come sit next to me. That’s how we’re going to approach it, that’s how it’s going to be.”
Auburn (12-7, 3-3) looks to increase its 92-85 all-time series advantage Saturday at 3 p.m. CT when the Tigers tip off against No. 16 Florida (14-5, 5-1) at O’Connell Center on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
“A tremendous opportunity for our guys to go on the road and see what we’ve got against a team that has unbelievable size,” Pearl said. “It’s going to require a lot of special in the effort, energy and toughness departments for us to compete.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer