Auburn’s historic season meets its final challenge in this weekend’s Final Four. The Tigers are facing the Florida Gators in the first all-SEC matchup in Final Four history. A win for Auburn would put them in their first national championship game in the program’s history.
This is the second Final Four appearance in program history since 2019 when the fifth-seeded Tigers lost to Virginia in a controversial finish that fans still talk about to this day. Virginia would go on to win the national championship with an overtime win over Texas Tech.
Experts are hyping up this weekend’s matchup as possibly the best Final Four we have ever seen. Every single team ranks in the top-10 of the KenPom rankings which ranks teams based off scoring and efficiency.
Auburn’s matchup with Florida will be a rematch from the regular season when the Gators came into Neville Arena and won 90-81. The Tigers could not stop Florida’s three-point shooting as the Gators made a total of 13 threes.
Auburn coaches and players have had to deal with the embarrassment of that game for awhile. Some of them said they were “too comfortable” in that game after going on such a long win streak.
Florida’s victory kickstarted their amazing run this season. The Gators went on to win the SEC tournament and win a total of 34 games so far. They hope to win their school’s third national title since 2006 and 2007 when they won two consecutive National Championships under Billy Donovan.
Florida’s offense is led by star guard Walter Clayton Jr. His performance in the Elite Eight against Texas Tech might be the reason they are still in the tournament. After trailing by 10 with less than 3 minutes to play, Clayton Jr. hit two-straight threes to give the Gators the lead with 59 seconds on the clock.Auburn will have to find an answer to his offensive production especially in a close game down the stretch.
Fortunately, the defensive effort has improved since their second round victory against Creighton. The Tigers have out-rebounded their last two opponents by a total of 87-74 and forced a total of 26 turnovers. Auburn will need the same effort and energy against the Gators on Saturday.
Auburn and Florida will tip-off at 5:09 P.M. central time with coverage on CBS. The winner will face either Duke or Houston in the national championship game on Monday night. That game will tip-off right after the end of the Auburn and Florida.
If you aren’t in San Antonio, the city of Auburn will be the place to be to watch the game. Neville Arena will host a watch party with the gates opening at 4:00 P.M. There will be limited concession items available. You can also go to any of the local bars in downtown Auburn where you can rush across the street to roll Toomer’s Corner if Auburn takes down Florida.
