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Florida becomes just the fifth team in NCAA history to beat two different No. 1 teams in a season

The Florida Gators entered Saturday’s matchup with Auburn having never defeated the nation’s No. 1 team on the road. They exited Saturday’s contest as one of just five programs to beat two different No. 1 ranked teams in the same season. The Gators took down the Tigers 90-81 to move to 20-3 and 7-3 in SEC play.

Auburn opened the game with a ten point lead, 15-5, but Florida responded quickly. Will Richard connected on a three-pointer with 8:38 remaining in the first half to give the Gators their first lead of the game. By the end of the period, Florida’s advantage swelled to ten points at 48-38.

The Gators shot 57% in the opening half and made seven three pointers to help create the separation on the scoreboard.

The Gators continued the hot shooting in the second half. Florida led by as many as twenty-one following an Urban Klavzar triple with 14:21 remaining in the game. Auburn did cut the deficit to single digits a few times over the final nine minutes, but never got closer than nine points behind.

Walter Clayton led the Gators with 19 points. He added six rebounds to the ledger, as well. Alex Condon finished with a double-double at 17 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Haugh added 16 points off the bench while Richard (12) and Denzel Aberdeen (10) also reached double digits in the scoring column.

Florida will travel to Mississippi State Tuesday to face the Bulldogs. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM with the game set to air on ESPN2.  MSU is 17-6 overall and 5-5 in SEC play. The Bulldogs defeated Georgia 76-75 Saturday.

Note: Florida guard Alijah Martin missed Saturday’s game with an injury.