Yes, the O’Dome has done its part for the Florida men’s basketball this season and, no doubt, will turn out and turn up again Saturday afternoon when the Gators (15-7, 5-4) square off against 12th-ranked and Southeastern Conference co-leader Auburn (19-2, 8-2) in what will be a fourth consecutive weekend sellout for the home team.
Nothing less than a roof-blowing atmosphere will do against the finest team the Gators have faced this season.
A team that very much as a Final Four look to it.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry’s “Pregame Stuff” setup story here]
“I think they’re playing like the best team in our league right now,” UF coach Todd Golden said of the Tigers. “I don’t want to say it’s not close, but I think they’ve kind of separated themselves.”
The Tigers made a statement when they thrashed rival Alabama 99-81 Wednesday night at home. The Crimson Tide came into the game alone atop the SEC standings and two weeks removed from handing the Tigers one of their two league losses, both having come on the road.
But since falling at Bama and Mississippi in the same week, Auburn has won three straight, all by double digits, with a 14-point win at Ole Miss (where Florida gave up 103 points in an 18-point loss early last month) and now the 18-point domination of Alabama, which had won four in a row and boasted the top-rated offense in the league.
That offense was turned upside down by the SEC’s No. 1 defense; the third-ranked defens in the nation, by efficiency. The Tigers rate first nationally in guarding to the 2-point area (allowing just 42.5 percent), second in effective field-goal percentage and block percentage (they swat away 16.5 percent of shots taken) and 20thwhen it comes to guarding the 3-point line (29.9 percent).
“They’re long and active. They have good depth. They play a lot of guys, so they’re pretty fresh. They stay physical,” Golden said of a team…
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