Depth and Water Clayton Jr. proved to be a major factor in Auburn’s Final Four loss to Florida.
The Auburn Tigers played well enough in the first half of its Final Four game with Florida on Saturday to punch their ticket to Monday’s NCAA Tournament final. Then, Todd Golden’s squad made crucial halftime adjustments to steal a win away from the Tigers.
Florida outscored Auburn, 41-27 in the second half to pull off the 79-73 win on Saturday. Both teams played within one possession of each other for most of the first half before Auburn outscored Florida 22-15 over the final 8:57 to create an eight-run cushion. Florida, who has built a reputation of being a strong second-half team, stayed the course by making strong adjustments to shut down the Tigers in the final 20 minutes to escape with the win.
Florida found many ways to shut down the Tigers on Saturday, many of which took place in the second half. Here is a look at the five key stats that defined Auburn’s Final Four loss to Florida.
Second half turnovers give Florida life
Both teams combined to score 84 points in the first half with virtually zero help from turnovers. However, Auburn’s fate took a turn as they coughed up the basketball 12 times in the second half, compared to committing just two turnovers in the first half. Not only did Auburn turn the ball over more in the second half, Auburn took advantage by scoring 14 points off of 12 Tiger turnovers. In all, 16 of Florida’s points were scored off of Auburn turnovers.
Close baskets decrease drastically in second half
One advantage that favored Auburn heading into this game was its ability to make close shots. That proved to be true in the first half as Auburn outscored Florida in the paint, 26-14. However, Florida found a way to shut down Auburn’s inside perimeter shooting as the Tigers scored just eight paint points in the second half, while Florida dropped 16 points.
Gators shut down Auburn’s bench
One factor that has led Auburn to several wins this season has been its production from its bench. However, Florida’s defense shut down Auburn’s three-man bench rotation as the combination of Tahaad Pettiford, Chaney Johnson, and Chris Moore scored just 13 points in Saturday’s Final Four loss.
After the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl credited Florida for increasing Auburn’s fatigue, especially late in the game.
“We got down to seven guys. That’s not enough. We just did not have enough help off the bench. I think to take a little heat off of Johni, we scored great in the first half with our two-point baskets. We went through him, and he did great. I don’t know whether we got away from it a little bit, but we only had a handful of two-point baskets in the second half. I’m going to give Florida credit defensively for stepping up.”
Florida wins the boards
Florida taking away Auburn’s ability to score was a major trend in the game and more evidence could be found on the glass. Auburn lost the rebound battle, 39-30, on Saturday, which included a 27-21 deficit in defensive rebounds. Auburn held the advantage in second-chance points, 14-11, but had very few opportunities to keep possessions alive.
Too much Walter Clayton Jr.
With Johni Broome and Cooper Flagg now out of the NCAA Tournament, Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. has a clear path to winning the tournament’s MVP award after another stellar showing. Clayton finished the game with 34 points, which was broken down by 61% shooting from the field (11-of-18), 62% shooting from three-point land (5-of-8) and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw stripe. Clayton took over the game for Florida and is leading the Gators into the National Championship game.
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