Auburn snaps streak in Gainesville, turns focus to Texas in SEC clash at Neville Arena
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn pulled off its biggest road win in years on Saturday, snapping a 15-game losing streak at Florida with a 76–67 win over No. 16 Florida at the O’Connell Center. Now the Tigers return home to face Texas in a high-stakes SEC matchup Monday night at Neville Arena.
Keyshawn Hall led the way against the Gators, scoring 22 of his 24 points in the first half as Auburn built a 15-point lead heading into the break. Florida, the defending national champions, rallied to tie the game twice in the second half, but sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford’s driving layup with 4:24 remaining gave Auburn the lead for good. The Tigers outscored Florida 38–28 in the paint and held the nation’s top rebounding team to just six offensive boards.
The win marked Auburn’s first in Gainesville since 1996.
With the streak finally broken, Auburn (15–6, 4–3 SEC) now turns its attention to Texas, who visits Neville Arena for the first time as an SEC member. Despite a 12–8 (3–4 SEC) record, the Longhorns are riding momentum and have played far better than their record suggests. All three of their conference wins have come against AP Top 25 opponents, including a 20-point blowout over Georgia last weekend.
“They’re the most dangerous team in our league—and it’s not even close,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl said.
Texas head coach Sean Miller has reshaped the program’s identity around rebounding and defensive toughness. The Longhorns rank among the national leaders in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. Auburn out-rebounded Texas in last season’s meeting in Austin, but repeating that effort will be more difficult against Miller’s physical frontline.
Texas junior Dailyn Swain is in the middle of a breakout stretch, scoring 26 points against Georgia and dropping 29 at Kentucky. Auburn will lean on junior Kevin Overton—who posted a team-best +19 rating against Florida—to contain Swain and keep him out of the paint.
Off the court, Monday night is a key recruiting opportunity for Auburn. Gabe Nesmith, a five-star wing and the No. 1 player in Georgia for the 2027 class, will be in attendance for an unofficial visit. With a major target on campus and a surging opponent in town, Neville Arena is expected to be at full volume.
Odds and ends: Auburn is a 6.5-point favorite. The total is set at 159.5. The Tigers are 5–2 this season when starting Hall, Murphy, Overton, Pettiford, and Williams-Adams.
Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN2.