Feb. 23, 2018
#12 Auburn at Florida
(2017-18 RECORD: 24-4, 12-3 SEC) vs. (2017-18 RECORD: 17-11, 8-7 SEC)
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| Sat, Feb 24 | 7:30 p.m. |
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" >"One more until we cut the nets down."
That was Bruce Pearl's message to his team following Wednesday's win over Alabama, and the next opportunity for Auburn to clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title will come Saturday night at Florida. It could come sooner if Tennessee loses to Ole Miss on Saturday, but the Tigers won't be watching. They will be focused on preparing for their own game.
Besides, this Auburn team has done it the hard way all season. Why stop now? It would be fitting if the Tigers clinched in Gainesville, a place they haven't won since 1996.
"Florida and Kentucky are probably the two programs in our league that have been the most successful recently," Pearl said. "Along the lines of trying to change the culture, create some relevance for our program and certainly trying to win a championship, there's a big prize on this one."
Winning the SEC regular season would be a big prize, too. Auburn hasn't accomplished that feat since 1999, and it's only happened twice in program history. It also doesn't hurt that eight of the last nine regular-season champions from the SEC have advanced to the Sweet 16.
But Pearl isn't looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament. He knows how special a regular-season title would be for this team and this program.
"The prize of a regular-season conference championship is probably every coach's dream," the Auburn coach said. "I know everybody pays attention to March and to the victors go the spoils in postseason and tournament play. I get all that. But as a coach and a grinder and a teacher, the treasure of a regular-season championship ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" you can't compare it.
"Now if you do that, you put yourself in position based on your seeding and things like that to have an opportunity to advance in March. So it's something we want real badly, but it's not going to come easy. We'll take it one (game) at a time."
Saturday's game at Florida is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT from Exactech Arena. Rod Bramblett 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 SEC Network with Dave Neal and Jon Sundvold on the call.
Player to watch: Desean Murray
Junior Desean Murray has led the Tigers in rebounding 13 times this season, including eight times in conference play. Murray has also gotten it done at the charity stripe as he has knocked down free throws at an .853 clip. The Stanley, N.C. native, has buried 31 of 34 free-throw attempts on the road this season, leading the Tigers with a .912 percentage.
Inside the series: Florida
Saturday's matchup will be the 166th meeting between Auburn and Florida with the Tigers holding an 87-78 advantage. However, Florida has won 10 straight and 20 of the last 21. Auburn's lone win in the series during that time came in the quarterfinals of the 2009 SEC Tournament in Tampa when Auburn defeated the Gators, 61-58.
The last time Auburn defeated Florida during the regular season was 1999, which also marks the program's last regular-season conference title.
Pearl is 8-8 all-time against Florida, including 0-3 as the coach at Auburn. Against the Gators, he is 5-2 at home, 3-5 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site games.
Road warriors
Auburn is the only team in the SEC with a winning road record in conference play at 5-2. The Tigers' five road SEC wins are their most since winning six during the 1998-99 season and just the second time they've won at least five in the last 30 years. They have two more chances this season to match or set a new program with seven SEC road wins.
Active hands
After forcing 17 turnovers against Alabama on Wednesday, Auburn has now forced 182 turnovers in its last 10 games. The Tigers lead the SEC in turnovers forced (15.5), and they're second in the league with a plus-3.3 turnover margin on the season.
Take a timeout
Click here to vote for Bruce Pearl and Children's Harbor in the Coaches Charity Challenge. The coach with the most votes after four rounds wins $100,000 for their charity. Each charity will receive money for every round their representative coach is voted through.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf