AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl opened his press conference Friday afternoon by acknowledging the last time the Tigers won in Gainesville, Florida.
Next Game:
at Florida
Feb. 10, 2024
2:30 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"1996," Pearl said. "Steven Pearl was 7. Mike Burgomaster was 2. Chad Prewett was in his second year of coaching high school basketball. Ira Bowman was a player at Penn. Bill Clinton was president. Gas was $1.22. And that was the last time we beat Florida at Florida.
"That's a long, long time ago."
This year's Auburn team will get the opportunity to break the streak Saturday. The Tigers come in playing their best basketball of the season with back-to-back wins at Ole Miss and at home against No. 16 Alabama, but Pearl knows it will take a strong effort to beat Florida.
"Coming off the heels of a second half against Ole Miss and two halves against Alabama, which are probably the three best halves we've played all year, I'm going to go back and remind our guys about what we were like at Alabama or at Mississippi State or even at Ole Miss in the first half, which weren't very good," Pearl said. "The body of our work on the road is still not very good, and it's not good enough to beat Florida unless we really step up."
The Gators had won four straight games before a 1-point loss at Texas A&M last weekend. They're currently 5-4 in the SEC, just 2.5 games back of Auburn at the top.
Saturday's game will also mean a little extra to Johni Broome and Tre Donaldson, two Florida natives who have not played a game in their home state since coming to Auburn. Both had the Gators among their finalists before choosing Auburn.
They, too, are well aware of Auburn's road woes at Florida and are hungry to get a win.
"It would mean a lot to me and my teammates," said Broome who poured in 24 points in Wednesday's win over Alabama. "Me and Tre are from Florida. This is my first college game in Florida, so it will be fun."
"It would mean the world," added Donaldson. "Growing up in Tallahassee, not big Florida fans obviously. But it would mean a lot for us to be able to go down there, and like BP says, make some history. I feel like our team would really enjoy that."
Auburn and Florida will tip off at 2:30 p.m. CT from Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app. The game will be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Patric Young on the call.
PLAYER TO WATCH: TRE DONALDSON
Sophomore guard Tre Donaldson is one of two players on Auburn's roster that returns home to the Sunshine State this weekend along with teammate Johni Broome (Plant City). The Tallahassee native previously starred at Florida High and will have several friends and family members in attendance as well as Broome.
Donaldson, who has started the last four games and seven games overall this season, has scored in double figures eight times this season, including each of the last two games. He leads Auburn with 3.52 assists per game, which ranks 14th in the SEC. He and freshman Aden Holloway have combined for 72 assists to just 27 turnovers over the last 12 games.
INSIDE THE SERIES: FLORIDA
Auburn leads 91-82 in the all-time series with Florida and has won two of the last three meetings, including a 61-58 victory last year in Neville Arena where Johni Broome posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The last two games in the series have been decided by a total of four points.
Auburn will be looking for its first road win in Gainesville since Feb. 10, 1996 (W, 73-70). It is the second-longest drought on the road in SEC play behind Kentucky (1988).The Gators have won 14 straight and 19 of the last 20 games in the series at home.
NOTABLE
» Auburn has now turned in back-to-back Quad 1 wins (at Ole Miss and vs. No. 16 Alabama) and is No. 7 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings. The Tigers can make it three straight Quad 1 wins with a victory at Florida (No. 39) on Saturday.
» The Tigers are playing at a high level, not only offensively but defensively as well. They currently boast the second-best field-goal percentage defense in the nation holding opponents to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor behind Houston (37.1).
» Auburn is the only team in the country ranked in the Top 10 in KenPom's offensive (No. 10) and defensive (No. 3) efficiency.
» The Tigers are 34-37 overall on the road and 28-31 in SEC road games over the last seven seasons, which ranks third and tied for third among league teams during that span.
» With its next win, Auburn will secure its 15th 20-win season in the program's 118-year history. Six of those 15 20-win seasons have come in the last seven seasons under head coach Bruce Pearl. The Tigers have won 162 games over that seven-year span.