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Gators take early first-half lead in runaway win versus Auburn

PHOTO CREDIT: Florida Athletics
PHOTO CREDIT: Florida Athletics

The Gators went on the road tonight for a must-win game versus the Auburn Tigers, and came out on top of the matchup, 74-57.

UF got off to a hot start, shooting 50 percent from the field as well as from behind the arc. They took a 22-point lead in the first half, led by Tre Mann, who achieved his first double-double tonight with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals, notching 14 points in the first 11 and a half minutes.

Of surprising note tonight was Scottie Lewis, who finished out the night with 16 points, five steals and one block. He hasn’t really been a huge boost on offense or defense this season, but Tre Mann did have some great things to say about his preparation leading up to this week's game.

“It started last week in practice," said Mann. "I could just tell he was more locked in, more engaged and everything. He was trying to be a better teammate, a better person.

“I could just tell from then that he was locked in," Mann continued. "We definitely needed that. Huge for Scottie, huge for the team.”

The second half came with a lot of hard press coverage from Auburn, and it just never seemed to slow down the fast-paced Gators offense. Auburn played an unbalanced game tonight, and this seems to be because they were shy of their star player and 2021 NBA Draft prospect, Sharife Cooper.

Cooper missed tonight’s game due to an ankle injury, which sent any fighting chance Auburn had to win directly down the drain. They finished their night shooting 39 percent from the field, 23 percent from three-point land and accumulated 20 turnovers.

The Gators are on a must needed two-game win streak right now and will need to continue it going into the postseason. They are currently projected to be the No. 8 seed and will need to win their last two games to seal their spot in the NCAA Tournament.

"I thought we did some good thing," said Mike White. "Press attack late was more sharp than it was early second half, we got a little rattled there, credit Auburn. Defensively I thought we were pretty good. Some areas for improvement, of course, continue to be there- foul discipline. I thought they missed a few for us.

"Defending the three, we walked at a couple three point shooters at times. A lot of times we had the right amount of urgency and at times we didn't. I'd like to take a couple of those turnovers back, of course. Coming on the road and winning at a place like this in this league, you'll take it."

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Who: Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats

When: Saturday, Feb. 27th | 4:00 pm

Where: Rupp Arena | Lexington, Kentucky

TV: CBS Sports, Gator Sports Network

Notable

Florida improves to 5-2 vs. Auburn under Mike White, including 2-1 on the road. Four of those five wins have come by 17 points or more.

Margin of victory in previous UF wins vs. Auburn under White:

+32, 95-63, 1/23/16, Home

+19, 114-95, 2/14/17, Away

+6, 72-66, 2/24/18, Home

+22, 69-47, 1/18/20, Home

Florida’s defense has limited Auburn to 52 points per game in the last two meetings.

The win marked White’s 120th at Florida, moving into third all-time in Florida history by passing Sam McAllister (119, 1937-42, 1946-51), trailing only Billy Donovan (467, 1996-2015) and Norm Sloan (232, 1960-66, 1980-89).

Tre Mann notched his first career double-double, totaling 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Mann started on fire with 14 points in the first 11:30 of the game.

His 13 rebounds also marked a career high (10 at Vanderbilt, 12/30/20) and the most by a Gator since Kerry Blackshear’s 16 in last season’s win vs. Auburn.

He is the fourth different Gator to earn a double-double this season (Colin Castleton, Keyontae Johnson, Scottie Lewis).

After Auburn opened scoring, the Gators then went on an 18-3 run over the next 10 minutes. The Gators didn’t surrender a two-point field goal until more than 11 minutes into the game (two 3-pointers, no free throws during that stretch).

Florida forced 21 Auburn turnovers, UF’s most vs. an SEC opponent since 22 vs. South Carolina (1/5/19). That included eight turnovers forced in the first 10 minutes.

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