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Basketball preview: Auburn vs. No. 11 Florida

Photo by Todd Van Emst

Coming off of arguably the biggest win of Tony Barbee’s short career at Auburn, the Tigers face a much tougher task in traveling to Gainesville tonight to take on Florida in the O’Connell Center. The Gators (9-3) are like a more streamlined version of Mississippi State: a lot of offense, somewhat suspect defense and a bunch of players who can make a ton of shots from the outside.

But the biggest problem may be the venue. Auburn (14-12, 4-8) is still only 1-8 on the road this season, and the lone win came against Hawaii, a team whose resume looks absolutely nothing like the profile put together by a Florida team that still has a shot at a top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. On the road, more often than not, the Tigers have failed to put together the kind of closing run that lifted them to a win over Mississippi State Saturday, and Florida will more than likely force Auburn to score a lot of points, something the Tigers have struggled to do throughout the SEC schedule.

The Gators rank first in the SEC at 78.9 points-per-game. Auburn is only scoring 63.6, and the Gators have held opponents to roughly the same scoring output as the Tigers in SEC play despite playing a much more freewheeling style. Auburn hasn’t won back-to-back games over a ranked team since Chuck Person was leading the Tigers to an Elite Eight appearance in 1986, and the task is not going to be easy tonight.

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Auburn vs. No. 11 Florida

  • When: 7 p.m. ET tonight.
  • Where: O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
  • TV: ESPNU.
  • Last time out: Auburn 65, No. 23 Mississippi State 55; Florida 98, Arkansas 68.
  • Series: Auburn leads 87-71.

Matching Up

  • Center: Rob Chubb’s production on the offensive end of the floor has steadily declined through the dregs of the SEC schedule, and his scoring average is down to 8.6 points, although he’s still grabbing 5.1 rebounds. Against Florida, he’ll be matched up against the Gators’ one true bruiser in 6-9, 247-pound center Patric Young. Young averages 10.7 and 6.3 rebounds. Edge: Florida.
  • Forward: Auburn’s Kenny Gabriel continues to be one of the SEC’s best all-around threats, and he may be one of the most versatile players in the league. His athleticism and ability to protect the rim will be tested by Erik Murphy, Florida’s 6-10 forward who plays more like a 3 than a 4 and prefers to shoot from the outside, because Gabriel may be pulled away from the basket to deny Murphy open 3-pointers. Beyond his shooting, though, Murphy doesn’t add much to Florida’s inside presence. Edge: Auburn.
  • Guard/Forward: Early in the season, Barbee might have been tempted to insert Chris Denson into the starting lineup against Florida’s three-guard attack, but Denson’s minutes have fallen off considerably of late, and Allen Payne has played well defensively. He faces an extremely tough matchup in Florida freshman guard Bradley Beal, who only stands 6-3 but ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring at 14.6 points-per-game and pulls down 6.3 rebounds. Edge: Florida.
  • Guard: Frankie Sullivan has played well lately. Over the last four games, Sullivan’s averaging 15.8 points, and he’s been able to get on a couple of good shooting streaks. On the other side, though, Florida junior Kenny Boynton is one of the SEC’s best gunners, averaging 17.5 points-per-game and knocking down 43 percent of his 3-point attempts. Edge: Florida.
  • Guard: If defensive specialist Josh Wallace can disrupt similarly diminutive Florida guard Erving Walker’s game, he could throw off some of Florida’s scoring ability, because Walker has been a playmaker who is averaging 4.9 assists in addition to 12.4 points. If Walker is allowed to run unchecked, though, the Gators will have no trouble getting their offense going, provided that the team is making its normal allotment of 3-pointers. Edge: Florida.
  • Bench: Florida will reportedly have sixth man Mike Rosario back after a six-game absence, and 6-7 forward Will Yeguete provides a lot of the rebounding help for Young inside with his minutes off the bench. Over on Auburn’s side, Varez Ward has to build off of a 10-point, nine-assist performance Saturday, and the Tigers need to get more production out of a group that includes Denson, Noel Johnson and Adrian Forbes. Edge: Push.

My pick: Florida is riding high after a blowout road win over Arkansas, playing at home and trying to secure a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, plus Auburn has to fight the tendency to ease up after a big win. The Gators extend Auburn’s streak without back-to-back victories against ranked teams again.