Florida basketball tames Auburn Tigers, Michael Frazier II impresses

Florida Gators guard Mike Rosario takes a shot against the Auburn Tigers during the first half at Auburn Arena. The Gators beat the Tigers 83-52. (John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)

The Florida Gators (21-3) are at it again as they decimated the Auburn Tigers (9-16) on Saturday, 83-52. It was a typical conference victory for Florida, they never trailed, led by double digits midway through the first half and then spent most of the second half with a lead in the 20′s and 30′s.

The Gators are at their most dangerous when draining three pointers, and that was the case today. Florida sank a season high 15-of-30 threes on the afternoon, almost as many as their opponent attempted (16). Florida also shot very effectively from the field as well at 57.4%.

Mike Rosario led all scorers with 22 points, including 18 in the first half, but the real offensive star was Micheal Frazier II. In Tuesday’s win over Kentucky, Frazier was almost non-existent on the offensive end, he attempted one field goal, had one rebound and two assists. Today he was far from absent, scoring 18 points. Frazier only took three-point shots tonight but he was deadly from beyond the arc hitting six of seven. With Frazier playing such extended minutes it will be interesting to see if he hits the “Freshman wall” and fans see a sharp decline in numbers.

Auburn is 12th among all SEC teams in field goal percentage and it showed. Florida shut the Tigers down (not surprising as the Gators allow opponents to shoot 37.2%). They held Auburn to 25% from three-point range and 35.2% from the field. The Gators pressed early and often, forcing 14 turnovers and leaving many to wonder if Auburn even bothered to practice against the press during their preparation for this game. Florida’s strength is its defense and they haven’t played it this well since 2007, the last time they won a national championship.

The Gators take the court again Tuesday, February 19 on the road against Missouri.

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