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No. 6 Florida upsets No. 1 Auburn on the road (1:58)
No. 6 Florida takes down No. 1 Auburn on the road without Alijah Martin. (1:58)
ESPN News Services
Feb 8, 2025, 06:39 PM ET
AUBURN, Ala. -- Walter Clayton Jr. scored 19 points and Alex Condon added 17 as No. 6 Florida rallied from an early deficit and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81 Saturday, ending the Tigers' 14-game winning streak.
Florida (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), down by 10 points early, built a 10-point advantage by the end of the first half and held off Auburn in the second half for its second victory over a top-ranked team this season. Florida beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.
The Gators are the fifth team in AP poll history to have a home win and road win over AP No. 1 opponents in the same season, according to ESPN Research.
"I'm hard-pressed to believe that there's going to be another team in the conference that's going to come in here and get a win," Florida coach Todd Golden said. "I thought for the last 36 minutes of the game, we were about as good as we could be in an environment like this."
Florida shot 13-for-33 from 3-point range, while Auburn shot 32% from long distance, finishing 7-for-22.
The Gators trailed by six with 5:58 left in the first half before going on a 14-2 run and taking control of the game. They scored 23 of the final 30 points before halftime and went on to lead by as many as 21 points early in the second half.
Auburn entered with the second-longest active winning streak in Division I men's basketball behind only Duke, which has won 16 straight heading into Saturday's game at Clemson.
Tigers coach Bruce Pearl credited the Gators for the win but said he sensed his team was "due for a letdown."
"We did not look like the No. 1 team in the country," Pearl said. "We did not act like the No. 1 team in the country. We didn't prepare like it. And as a result, we got beat."
Tigers leading scorer Johni Broome, a fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a contender for national player of the year, had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn (21-2, 9-1) had its nine-game conference winning streak halted.
Miles Kelly scored 22 points, Tahaad Pettiford added 14 and Chaney Johnson 13 for the Tigers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.