Auburn basketball led Florida by as much as 18 points at the start of the Saturday’s second half.
Florida then put together a 26-11 run to tie it at 54 a little under the 8-minute mark, as the raucous Gators crowd began shift momentum back.
Auburn coach Steven Pearl shared the message he gave his team after calling a timeout when Florida stormed back from its double-digit deficit.
“They tied the game with 7:50 left, and that’s an eternity in college basketball. They had all the momentum in the world. We were in a timeout, and we were like, ‘You guys, if I were to tell you that with 7:50 left, we’re going to be tied against one of the best teams in college basketball on the road, would you take it?’ And they were like, ‘F— yeah. Let’s go’” Pearl said.
“They did a great job of responding, and we hit back. I told them we were going to be up five at the next media timeout, and we were up six,” Pearl added. “Our guys responded and did a great job of taking that team’s punch.
“Three weeks ago, our team would’ve folded and let all that pressure get to us. Our team did a great job of hanging in there and staying together.”
GAINESVILLE, FL – JANUARY 24 – The Auburn Men’s Basketball Team during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the #16 Florida Gators at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn TigersZach Bland/Auburn Tigers
After Florida tied the score, the Gators connected on just two field goals for the remainder of the game. Auburn held the Gators to shooting 37% from the floor and upset No. 16 Florida 76-67.
Florida coach Todd Golden attributed the late-game struggles to fatigue, but the Gators’ poor free-throw shooting — just 59%— also played a role.
“Yeah, I think that was a big part of it. We dug ourselves in an 18-point deficit, crawled all the way back to take a two-point lead, and got a tough reversal on the goaltend,” Golden said. “And they made a couple of tough shots after that, but we had dug ourselves in too big of a hole with defense in the first half, and obviously, the free-throw shooting. But I do think a big part of it was the fact that we had to expend so much energy getting back in the ballgame.”
After Florida’s comeback, The Tigers went on an 8-2 run of their own for a a six-point lead in the final four minutes.
Auburn had four reach double-digit scoring point totals, as the Tigers backcourt duo of Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton combined for 21 points.
Keyshawn Hall led the Tigers with 24 points and KeShawn Murphy added 16 points and nine rebounds down low.
Overton spoke on Auburn’s postgame radio show about the game-changing moment that led to Auburn’s victory over Florida.
“I mean, they made their runs, but I think with our team we can prevail through adversity,” he said. “And we did that around the 7:51 mark on the clock. Just in that moment we knew we had been here a thousand times and we pushed through.
“Most of our team has been in situations like these. Loud gym and road game vibe where we just embrace the moment. And we embraced it together,” Overton added.
Auburn improves to 13-7 overall and 4-3 against conference opponents. The Tigers will host Texas in their next game Wednesday night on ESPN2.