Final: Auburn 76, Florida 62
The Florida Gators are running out of options to build a resume for an NCAA tournament bid.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lundardi had the Gators in the bracket as one of the final teams in prior to Tuesday’s loss at Auburn.
Even with that bit of positive news, the Gators team is stuggling to find consistency on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Florida only trailed by three points midway through the first half (18-15) before a 12-4 Tigers run pushed the lead further.
The Gators however fought back and got the lead down to six by halftime.
Freshman Keyontae Johnson opened the second half with a pair of made free throws to get Florida within four points, but Auburn would once again go on a run and outscore the Gators 13-2 to essentially seal the game.
Senior forward Kevarrius Hayes led the Gators with 11 points despite starting the game on the bench due to arriving late to a meeting earlier in the week.
Senior guard KeVaughn Allen and freshman Noah Locke each added ten points. Johnson added 7 points and a team leading 10 rebounds.
As a team, Florida shot just 4-20 from the 3-point line, but sank all twelve attempts from the charity stripe.
The Gators fall to 12-10 on the season and 4-5 in SEC play. Unfortunately for Florida, the schedule doesn’t get any easier as the Gators will make a trip to Knoxville to play #1 Tennessee on Saturday.