Florida Gators vs. Auburn: Preview, Info, Odds, Where to Watch and More

The Florida Gators are set to open SEC play against the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night.

The Florida Gators will walk into battle on the road against the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night as they open SEC play with the final game before 2022 rolls over into 2023.

Having lost 2 of their last three, the Gators are searching for answers for how to contend with the upper echelon of programs after losing all but one game to a power six opponents in the opening stretch of games in the Todd Golden era. They currently sit at 1-4 in those games with losses to Xavier, West Virginia, UConn and Oklahoma.

They face another challenging task in Bruce Pearl's Tigers tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.

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Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers

Where: Neville Arena, Auburn, Ala.

When: Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN2

Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / SiriusXM 383 / SXM App 973

Odds: Florida is a 5.5-point underdog to the Tigers, according to Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 141.5 points.

Series history: The Gators are 82-90 all-time against Auburn. In the last meeting between the two programs on Feb. 19, 2022, the Gators toppled the Tigers 63-62 in Gainesville to record an upset victory over the nation's second-ranked team at the time.

Important stories

• Gators squander 11-point lead, fall to Oklahoma in Jumpman Invitational
• Gators hoops earn dominant victory over Ohio
• Florida Gators fall hard to UConn Huskies at home, 75-54
• Gators overcome sluggish first half to cruise to win over Stetson, 89-52
• Gators HC Todd Golden updates status of starters Kyle Lofton, Will Richard
• Florida Gators blowout FAMU, 102-62
• Three takeaways from the Florida Gators Phil Knight Legacy outings
• Florida Gators defensive breakdowns in loss to FAU are "very correctable"
• Todd Golden sets tournament-level expectations for year-one campaign
• Assistant Kevin Horde shaping the future of Florida's offensive attack
• Gators basketball 2022-23 player profile: Center Colin Castleton
• Profile: Center Jason Jitoboh
• Profile: Center Aleks Szymczyk
• Profile: Forward CJ Felder
• Profile: Forward Alex Fudge
• Profile: Wing Riley Kugel
• Profile: Wing Kowacie Reeves Jr.
• Profile: Wing Will Richard
• Profile: Wing Niels Lane
• Profile: Guard Myreon Jones
• Profile: Guard Denzel Aberdeen
• Profile: Guard Trey Bonham
• Profile: Guard Kyle Lofton
• Gators' complete 2022-23 schedule

The rundown

Welcome to the Jungle, where there's no fun and games for visitors.

After a mediocre stretch to start the season, league play begins for the Gators against Auburn on Wednesday.

The unit finished non-conference play (at least for the time being, as a late January date with Kansas State in the Big 12-SEC challenge remains to officially conclude it) in an underwhelming fashion as it dropped the inaugural Jumpman Invitational contest to Oklahoma on Dec. 20.

After holding an 11-point lead over the Sooners, Florida looked to be a rejuvenated squad set to prove its worth on the national scale after multiple poor outings against other power six programs.

They played with evident intention on the defensive end, found easy buckets in transition and rekindled the offensive impact of center Colin Castleton. The Gators were dominant through 17 minutes. However, a late run by Porter Moser's squad in the final three minutes of the first half to cut the double-digit UF lead to two proved to be Florida's downfall.

Todd Golden's unit returned from the locker room with the same defensive intensity they carried in the first half, but the transition offense slowed as the Sooners forced them to make shots in half courts sets.

The unit, shooting at just a 32.8% clip on the night, failed to do that.

As a result, OU took the lead early in the second half. Despite consistent pressure from Florida, it never relinquished that grasp on the game from that point forward. The shooting excellence from Grant Sherfield willed Oklahoma to the nine-point victory over Florida to push the Gators to 7-5 on the season.

The outing showed improvement for Florida, hanging into the game against an upper-tier program in the grand scheme of college basketball. However, the unfavorable result continued.

Unlike the other games Florida has fallen in defeat this season, a get-right opponent fails to sit on the other side in waiting for the Gators this time. Instead, they'll travel into Neville Arena as Golden goes back to the future to begin SEC play as a head coach at a stop that groomed him for the spotlight he's recently assumed at UF.

One of his mentors, Bruce Pearl, leads a 10-2 Auburn Tigers team into battle against the susceptible Gators squad to commence a crucial two-month stretch before tournament play in March.

Carrying in the 16th-rated team in the nation per the Pomeroy adjusted efficiency margin metrics on Kenpom.com, Pearl boasts one of the top contenders for the SEC title for the second season in a row.

Led by Wendell Green Jr. and KD Johnson in the backcourt, the Tigers have produced at a high mark this season to present opposing teams with trouble to begin their season.

The Gators will have to combat the suffocating two-way abilities of the Auburn guards with their backcourt, mainly consisting of Kyle Lofton and Trey Bonham. The UF tandem has been equally as impactful in Florida's wins but hasn't shown the consistency needed to elevate the Gators to the level of competition they look to reach this season.

Their maintained production will be imperative now and for the rest of the season in the SEC. The Tigers are a true challenge.

However, the best wins come against Northwestern and Washington after an out-of-conference schedule that didn't quite compare to the gauntlet Florida was forced to weather in the first two months of the 2022-23 season.

Even then, the Tigers have shown signs of weakness throughout, dropping games to Memphis and USC — albeit not within the comfort of their own arena — and producing just 43 points against Northwestern in the win over the Wildcats while in Cancun.

The frontcourt matchup of Castleton and Johni Broome — who picked Auburn as his transfer destination over Florida this offseason — will be another key matchup. The victor will likely have seen their big man impact the game in more ways than one.

However, getting Will Richard and Kowacie Reeves Jr. involved in all areas of the floor could ultimately decide the contest for Florida. Their prowess as shooters and attack the rim can keep the offensive production steady, an area in the Gators have faltered thus far.

In an environment like The Jungle — one of the most daunting in the nation — there is no room for offensive inefficiency. 

Can the Gators bounce back from a disappointing loss to Oklahoma to upset the No. 20 Tigers on the road? Or will the mentor teach his former mentee another lesson to send Florida into the new year with more questions and fewer answers for their play?

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