Thomas Haugh (10) and the Florida sidelines celebreate as the Gators finish off the Tigers Saturday.
AUBURN, Ala. – With just under eight minutes left in the opening half on Saturday, the Florida Gators regrouped on their sideline holding a slim one-point advantage. After absorbing Auburn’s early surge, the team calmly worked its way back into the contest.
Head coach Todd Golden turned his attention to point guard Walter Clayton Jr.,, who had missed the previous Southeastern Conference matchup due to an ankle injury. Golden studied his senior leader and top scorer, impressed by the confidence Clayton exuded.
"He looked great, not winded," Golden said. "I warned him at that point, 'Dude, there's a good chance you play 40 [minutes].' He was like, 'I got it.' The rest is history."
And history it was.
Clayton finished with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and dished out a career-best nine assists while playing all 40 minutes. His performance guided five Florida players into double figures and propelled the sixth-ranked Gators to a 90-81 upset over No. 1 Auburn in front of a packed, hostile crowd inside "The Jungle."
The victory came despite the absence of fifth-year guard Alijah Martin, the team’s second-leading scorer, who was ruled out just 30 minutes before tipoff with a hip pointer. It marked Florida’s first-ever road win against a No. 1 opponent and followed last month’s historic home triumph over Tennessee, also ranked No. 1 at the time. With this achievement, UF became only the sixth team in Associated Press poll history to defeat two different top-ranked programs in the same season.
"Just an incredible win for our program," Golden said. "I thought our guys were fantastic for 40 minutes."
Clayton orchestrated an offense that shot 48 percent from the field, knocked down 13 triples from six different players at a 39.4 percent clip, converted 15 of 18 free throws, and recorded a SEC-best 22 assists. The Gators silenced one of the nation’s loudest arenas by building a commanding 21-point lead in the second half.
All four of Walter Clayton Jr. (1) 3-pointers were with his heels either touching or just outside the AU midcourt logo at Neville Arena.
Sophomore forward Alex Condon delivered his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Off the bench, fellow sophomore Thomas Haugh added 16 points, nine boards, three assists, and three blocks. Senior guard Will Richard, despite early foul trouble, contributed 12 points and five rebounds across 31 minutes. Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen stepped into the starting lineup for Alijah Martin—just as he had for Walter Clayton Jr. earlier in the week—and chipped in 10 points, including two clutch second-half 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Urban Klazvar was perfect from beyond the arc, hitting all three of his attempts, with two coming back-to-back to help extend Florida’s lead.
Auburn, which had been unbeaten at home this season and had dropped only two of its last 26 games in the venue, was paced by Johni Broome’s 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The frontrunner for 2025 NCAA Player of the Year was held to 8-of-19 shooting while battling Condon and Florida’s frontcourt. The Gators contained the nation’s most efficient offense to 42.9 percent shooting overall and just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range.
It capped a remarkable turnaround week for Florida. Just seven days earlier, the team suffered a 64-44 loss at Tennessee—their lowest scoring output in 35 years. They rebounded with a win over Vanderbilt without Clayton, and then stunned top-ranked Auburn while missing Martin.
"We've all got a 'next-man-up' mentality," said Clayton, whose first 3-pointer of the game pushed him past 1,000 career points as a Gator, becoming the 57th player in program history to reach that milestone. "Alijah wasn't on the court, but Alijah's still there. He was talking the whole game. He was telling us what he's seeing. Same thing when I was on the bench [Tuesday]. I was just telling the guys what I was seeing. So it was a lot of great communication between us, and we executed."
Fifth-guard Alijah Martin, ruled out with hip pointer during pregame, cheers on his teammates from the bench Saturday.
Sophomore forward Alex Condon delivered his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Off the bench, fellow sophomore Thomas Haugh added 16 points, nine boards, three assists, and three blocks. Senior guard Will Richard, despite early foul trouble, contributed 12 points and five rebounds across 31 minutes. Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen stepped into the starting lineup for Alijah Martin—just as he had for Walter Clayton Jr. earlier in the week—and chipped in 10 points, including two clutch second-half 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Urban Klazvar was perfect from beyond the arc, hitting all three of his attempts, with two coming back-to-back to help extend Florida’s lead.
Auburn, which had been unbeaten at home this season and had dropped only two of its last 26 games in the venue, was paced by Johni Broome’s 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The frontrunner for 2025 NCAA Player of the Year was held to 8-of-19 shooting while battling Condon and Florida’s frontcourt. The Gators contained the nation’s most efficient offense to 42.9 percent shooting overall and just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from long range.
It capped a remarkable turnaround week for Florida. Just seven days earlier, the team suffered a 64-44 loss at Tennessee—their lowest scoring output in 35 years. They rebounded with a win over Vanderbilt without Clayton, and then stunned top-ranked Auburn while missing Martin.
"We've all got a 'next-man-up' mentality," said Clayton, whose first 3-pointer of the game pushed him past 1,000 career points as a Gator, becoming the 57th player in program history to reach that milestone. "Alijah wasn't on the court, but Alijah's still there. He was talking the whole game. He was telling us what he's seeing. Same thing when I was on the bench [Tuesday]. I was just telling the guys what I was seeing. So it was a lot of great communication between us, and we executed."
Sophomore guard Urban Klavzar sizes up one of his three 3-pointers.
After Auburn strung together a 9-2 run to reclaim a six-point advantage and ignite the crowd, Florida responded with nine straight points—five from Walter Clayton Jr.—to move back in front. From that moment, the Gators never trailed again.
Florida carried a 48-38 lead into halftime, fueled by 57-percent shooting against one of the nation’s top defensive units. Early in the second half, the Gators hit six of their first 11 attempts, stretching the margin to 17. Moments later, Urban Klavzar drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the lead to 21 at 68-47 with 14 minutes remaining. The seldom-used guard, who had only three field goals across the team’s first 21 games, suddenly had five consecutive makes over two contests.
"You need guys to step up and make swing plays," Golden said of Klavzar, who finished with a plus-17 on-court rating in 17 minutes. "You're not going to hold 'em to 50 and hope."
The defining “swing play” came midway through the second half. Auburn had cut the deficit to nine, 76-67, and the arena was roaring. On Florida’s possession, Denzel Aberdeen missed a short jumper, but Thomas Haugh grabbed the rebound to extend the play. Clayton then misfired from deep, yet Haugh again battled for the ball, tipping it out to Aberdeen beyond the arc. Aberdeen reset and buried the wide-open 3-pointer, restoring the cushion to 12.
"That's just the kind of player I am," said Haugh, who posted a plus-19 rating. "It takes grit. Sometimes you got to just go do those things."
That sequence epitomized Florida’s resilience. Auburn twice trimmed the margin to nine in the final 90 seconds, but the Gators held firm and closed out the upset.
Sophomore guard Urban Klavzar sizes up one of his three 3-pointers.
"We came in with the right mentality. We went down at the start, but didn't get too worked up about it. We just slowly came back and then we weren't playing around with the lead. We were composed."
That composure allowed Florida to silence "The Jungle" and secure one of the most memorable regular-season victories in the program’s 116-year history.
"The biggest key was the mental toughness of our team," Golden said, noting the Gators’ fifth win in eight Quadrant 1 matchups, according to the NCAA Evaluation Tool. "It's a needle-mover in terms of NCAA seeding. It's a needle-mover in terms of where we finish in the SEC."
It was a landmark triumph—one destined to be remembered as a defining moment in Florida basketball history.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
