Gators Dominant Wire To Wire In Win Over #12 Auburn

Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel #2 flies through the air for layup during the first half as the Florida Gators mens basketball team hosts the #6 ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. January 6th, 2024. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.From the opening tip the Florida Gators were on fire and they didn’t relent at any point for a wire to wire blowout of the Auburn Tigers by a score of 81-65. In the opening minutes the Gators jumped to a 9-0 lead, which quickly turned into a 26-9 advantage. At half, the scoreboard read 42-26, and in case there was any chance the Tigers were going to claw their way back into this one the Gators pushed their lead to 51-30 and put things into cruise control to close things out. Both sides of the floor saw the Gators play some of their most inspired basketball of the season which could have been a result of a few things. The Gators had a week to prepare for this game due to their unofficial “bye” on the schedule, and they certainly felt the need to get this resume win coming off a frustrating loss to Texas A&M. Whatever it was, the Gators had a mighty performance to improve 16-7 on the season and 6-4 in the SEC, and arguably even more importantly–get their second quadrant-1 win. Gainesville continues to be a house of horrors for Auburn who has now lost their last 15 road games against the Gators.

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