AUBURN, Ala. — The sixth-ranked Florida men’s basketball team made some history with its victory over No. 1 Auburn on Saturday.
It wasn’t the Gators’ 90-81 win over the Tigers that will find its way into the program’s record books. Florida had already taken down a top-ranked team this season, beating Tennessee 73-43 in Gainesville on Jan. 7, when the Volunteers were No. 1.
Saturday’s win, though, marked the first time the Gators have beaten a No. 1 team in a true road game. It was also the first home loss and the first Southeastern Conference setback of the season for Auburn after a 9-0 start to league play. The Tigers fell to 21-2 overall, with the Gators ending their 14-game winning streak that started after an 84-78 loss at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke on Dec. 4 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Coming into the day, Florida (20-3, 7-3) had lost all seven of its previous road games against No. 1 teams.
“This is probably the toughest place to play in America right now, against the best team in America, and we showed out for 40 minutes,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “I thought we were the mentally and physically tougher team.”