On February 8, the Florida Gators shocked Auburn at Neville Arena. The Gators won 90-81, ending the Tigers’ impressive 14-game winning streak. These two strong SEC teams will face each other again in the Final Four this Saturday in San Antonio, and one reporter from USA TODAY believes that the same outcome might happen again.
Jeremy Cluff from the Arizona Republic made his prediction for the SEC Final Four game, expecting the Gators to win 82-77. He explained that several factors influenced his choice for Florida to win on Saturday.
“This game features rivals from the SEC conference. Florida is a 2.5-point favorite and has a 1-0 lead over Auburn this season, having defeated the Tigers in Alabama on February 8 with a score of 90-81 when Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the nation. Florida is on a winning streak of 10 games. Johni Broome’s injury is a big concern for the Tigers in this matchup. Regardless of the outcome, the SEC will have a winner in this game. Florida will keep up its strong performance.”
In their previous matchup, the then-No. 1 Tigers lost to Florida partly because of bad free-throw shooting (14-of-23) and giving up 17 points from eight turnovers. Four starters from Florida scored in double digits, while only two players did so for Auburn. The Tigers aim to depend on their solid defense in Saturday’s rematch while trying to improve their offensive play.
