Auburn basketball opponent preview: Florida Gators

The 2022-23 Auburn basketball season is about to be in full swing. The Tigers will start conference play Wednesday night in Gainesville against the Florida Gators. Coming off of a spread-covering win against Washington, Auburn will be looking to start SEC play with a big win.

The defending SEC champions have had their fair share of offensive struggles, but Bruce Pearl has kept things competitive when the shots aren’t falling.

As for the Gators, Todd Golden’s first year as the head man at Florida is off to a decent start. 7-5 to finish non-conference play isn’t bad for a first year coach, as Pearl’s first year started with an 8-5 record in the non-conference portion.

Florida on Offense

Florida is a fairly standard motion offense. There’s not a lot of dribbling around for this team. They want passes and touches for everyone on the court. This includes the bigs kicking back out to shooters.

When the offense stalls out or is late in the shot clock, the Gators run a lot of pick and roll action, looking to get downhill and create. Similar to our own offense, this is usually a last resort to get a good look. For Auburn to slow down this offense, they will have to stay disciplined and not commit any fouls off the ball.

The Gators on Defense

Florida is going to mostly play man. They have several athletic defenders that can get around ball screens. For Auburn to score, it is going to to take discipline to not force the issue. Using off ball screens to get Florida into a bad switch should give Auburn several good matchups.

Florida-Auburn basketball: Matchup to watch

Johni Broome vs. Colin Castleton should satisfy any traditionalists. These two bigs are extremely skilled and extremely physical. I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest if it comes down to these two to determine who wins this one.