AUBURN, Ala. – With the outcome on the line, Florida went to its big man. Auburn was ready.
Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams defended Colin Castleton, leading to Chris Moore's steal. Wendell Green Jr. scored in the final seconds and No. 20 Auburn beat Florida 61-58 Wednesday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' 26th consecutive home victory.
"Our defense and our rebounding were both elite," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "That was enough for us to win. We're going to be a team that's going to have to guard people."
Broome scored a layup on K.D. Johnson's assist to give Auburn a 59-58 lead with 1:14 to play. Auburn rebounded a missed Florida 3-pointer, but a Tiger turnover with 25 seconds remaining gave the Gators a chance to win.
Broome and Williams doubled Castleton, who lost his dribble with six seconds left. Moore grabbed the loose ball and passed to Green, who scored with 1.8 seconds left to secure Auburn's win in its SEC opener.
"That's our team. We've got to win defensively," Green said. "Offense is not always going to be there. We knew we had to get a stop. C-Mo (Moore) has been playing great all year. I saw him get a steal and I just wanted to go as fast as I could and get a layup."
Broome and Green led the Tigers with 14 points apiece. Williams added 13 points.
Broome and Dylan Cardwell held Castleton to six points, nearly 10 below his average, on 1-for-6 shooting.
"Coming to Auburn, that was on the games you circled on your calendar," said Broome, who led the Tigers with 11 rebounds, helping Auburn outrebound Florida 40-28. "He's a good player. The main goal of the game plan was to stop him. Not letting him get the ball was pretty big too. I gave it my best shot and was able to contain him."
"I'm glad (Johni) took that personally," Pearl said. "He's gotten a lot better, his energy, his effectiveness. I trust him."
The Tigers trailed 54-50 before tying the game on Williams' jump hook, Zep Jasper's steal and Allen Flanigan's fastbreak dunk.
Broome's dunk after Green's assist gave the Tigers a 56-54 lead. A pair of Florida free throws evened the score before K.D. Johnson's free throw put Auburn ahead 57-56. The Gators took their final lead on Castleton's assist to Kowacie Reeves on a backdoor cut with 1:34 to play.
In the first half Auburn held the Gators without a field goal for eight minutes but Florida ended the drought with two layups and a dunk in a 8-0 run that put the visitors ahead 26-20.
Green ended the half with a 3-pointer that halved the deficit to 26-23 before scoring the Tigers' first seven points of the second half.
"That was a big shot for me," said Green, who added five rebounds and two assists. "Coming out in the second half they told me to turn it up a notch so we can get back going and that's what I tried to do."
Twelve first-half turnovers and a 28.6 shooting percentage (8-28) limited Auburn's scoring opportunities but the Tigers compensated by outrebounding Florida 22-15.
Auburn (11-2, 1-0) will have a week to prepare for its next game, the Tigers' SEC road opener Jan. 4 at Georgia at 5:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
"Our guys understand it's going to be a grind this year," Pearl said. "It's going to be a rock fight."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
FLORIDA POSTGAME NOTES>> For the 11th time this season, Auburn went with the starting five of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (9-2).
>> With the win, Auburn improves to 91-82 in the all-time series with Florida. It was only the Tigers' fourth win at home against the Gators in the last decade. UF was the last team to hand AU a loss at home, before its current home-court win streak.
>> In his SEC debut, Johni Broome extended his double-digit scoring streak to a team-leading seven games recording his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Florida. It marked the 37th double-double of his career. Broome also dished out four of the team's 16 assists in the ballgame.
>> Back-to-back games in double digits for Wendell Green Jr. as he knocked down 14 points including the game-clinching layup and 6-of-8 shooting performance from the free throw line.
>> Jaylin Williams also with back-to-back contests in double digits with 13 points versus the Gators in another 30 minutes of action for the Tigers.
>> Auburn outrebounded Florida, 40-28 (+12), a team that came into the contest averaging 36.8 boards a game.
>> Second straight 1-0 SEC start for Auburn. The Tigers are now 5-4 all-time in SEC openers in the Bruce Pearl Era.
>> Auburn protected its home-court win streak, 26 straight games, which is tied as the fourth-longest in the country with Kentucky behind Gonzaga (74), Texas Tech (29) and Arizona (27).
>> The Tigers, who continue to lead the nation in blocked shots per game, swatted three shots behind Broome, Chris Moore and Dylan Cardwell versus Florida. It was AU's 66th straight game with a block.
>> Florida (58 points) was the fifth team this season to be held under 60 points by the Auburn defense. All three of the Gators' top three scorers were held under their scoring average: Colin Castleton (6 points, 15.8 ppg), Will Richard (2 points, 10.7 ppg) and Trey Bonham (6 pts, 10.2 ppg).