A turnover filled afternoon for the Florida Gators cost them in the end as Florida was eliminated from the SEC Tournament with a 65-62 loss to the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon in Nashville.With the win, the Tigers will face the winner of the Kentucky and Tennessee match up later this afternoon.
The Gators coming off a shocking win over LSU on Friday entered the game against Auburn trying to rebound from a 76-62 loss earlier in the year which featured 17 turnovers.Unfortunately for the Gators the turnover issues continued in the SEC Men’s Tournament semifinal as they turned the ball over a season-high nineteen times, including thirteen in the second half alone.
The failures to hold onto the ball completely overshadowed an impressive shooting performance from the Gators offense as they shot 62% from the floor including 6-14 from three point range (42.9%).Florida found themselves up 34-30 at the half despite a strong half of shooting from Junior guard Jared Harper of Auburn who led the Tigers with 16 points at the half.
Auburn outscored Florida in the second half 35-28 as they held the Gators to only 18 shots from the field in the second half and outshot the Gators by a margin of 56-38 in the game.Kevarrius Hayes and Jalen Hudson each had 16 points for the Gators with Hayes finishing a double-double with 12 rebounds leading the Gators.
Harper led all scorers in the game with 20 points and a game high 4 steals.
The Gators will find out their fate on Sunday as two wins in the SEC Tournament may have secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament with a season record of 19-15.
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