National Basketball Association
Auburn 86, Florida 67
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 17, 2024
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Don Daily, # Terry Oglesby, # Pat Adams
Attendance:
18532
By Field Level Media
Auburn claimed its third SEC tournament title with an 86-67 win over Florida to cap a dominant three-day run through the bracket on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.
The Tigers (27-7) were led by center Johni Broome with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while also spearheading a suffocating defensive effort that put Auburn in line for a prestigious spot in the NCAA Tournament hours before brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday.
"Winning the championship this year means even more," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, "because the league was so good. I was telling Garth before, I told my son, we've won a few of these. I think this one is the most special. Maybe it's because it's in my 10th year here at Auburn or because the bond that this team had. I wanted it really badly for these guys, or maybe just the fact that this league was that good. Proud of my team."
Broome was named SEC tournament MVP with 47 points, 24 rebounds and six blocks in three games at Nashville.
Senior guard Zyon Pullin led the Gators (24-11) with 15 points and seven rebounds and Walter Clayton Jr. added 13 points and four rebounds.
The Gators lost center Micah Handlogten to an injury late in the first half. The program confirmed postgame Handlogten suffered a broken lower left leg just over two minutes into the game when the 7-foot-1 center went up to grab an offensive rebound and landed hard on his leg.
Gators coach Todd Golden said the Handlogten injury took a toll on Florida.
"I mean, it's not something you can necessarily prepare for. It kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit. The biggest part is that Micah has good relationships with his teammates. Those guys love him. He's an incredible teammate," Golden said.
Golden said Handlogten would have surgery late Sunday night or early Monday.
Florida trailed 38-30 at halftime but came to life early in the second half with a 14-4 run.
Florida was 1 of 13 from 3-point range and shot 36.4 from the field, a piece of the scouting report Pearl stressed.
"I think part of it was four games in four days. Florida had three great wins. The teams they played against to get to the championship game. They played great basketball. I'm sure fatigue was a factor. When Micah goes down, that hurts their depth even more," Pearl said.
The win was Auburn's sixth in a row since losing 92-84 at Tennessee on Feb. 28.
Denver Jones scored 11 points and Chad Baker-Mazara had 10 for the Tigers, who shot 50.8 percent.
Tyrese Samuel had 12 points and Thomas Haugh added 11 for the Gators.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Auburn |
|
Zyon Pullin 15 |
Scoring |
Johni Broome 19 |
|
Walter Clayton Jr 3 |
Assists |
Tre Donaldson 4 |
|
Alex Condon 7 |
Rebounds |
Johni Broome 11 |
|
Zyon Pullin 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Johni Broome 5 |
|
Will Richard 3 |
Steals |
Tre Donaldson 3 |
|
Alex Condon 2 |
Blocks |
Dylan Cardwell 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Florida
|
67 |
36.4 |
1-13 |
18-25 |
9 |
36 |
6 |
8 |
11 |
| Auburn
|
86 |
50.8 |
6-19 |
18-22 |
18 |
36 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
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