SAN ANTONIO – On the eve of the national semifinals, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl laid out the two keys for the Tigers to advance to their first NCAA championship game: Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. could not be the best guard on the floor and the Gators’ frontcourt players could not be more physical or aggressive than the Tigers’.
So, it was no surprise that Auburn’s season ended Saturday night after a dominating performance by Clayton and a strong second half by the Gators’ bigs led Florida to a 79-73 victory. Florida advances to its fourth title game and will play Houston, a 70-67 winner over Duke in the other semifinal, on Monday night.
Clayton continued his sensational postseason run and was practically unstoppable while scoring 34 points, going 11-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-8 from long range, and hitting all seven of his free throws.
“Clayton was the difference,” Pearl said. “He was just flat-out the difference. We couldn’t contain him.”
A perfect example came late with Florida clinging to a three-point lead. Clayton blew past Auburn’s defense for a layup that became a three-point play after he was fouled, giving Florida a 74-68 advantage with 1:33 remaining. He iced the game on two free throws with 9.6 seconds left.
“Beast,” Auburn 6-foot-7 senior forward Chaney Johnson called Clayton.
“He’s a shotmaker,” Auburn 6-foot-1 freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford said.
“Great shooter,” echoed Tigers 6-foot-11 senior center Dylan Cardwell.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s game, Pearl hoped that 6-foot-4 senior guard Denver Jones, with some help, would be able to contain Clayton, a 6-foot-3 senior. But there was not much Jones or the Tigers could do to stop him.
“A lot of dribble handoffs, a lot of actions just run through him,” Jones said of what makes guarding Clayton a challenge. “Just constantly moving.”
Auburn’s plan to limit Clayton’s touches did not materialize.
“About the only thing I probably should have done more is trap the ball out of his hands a little bit,” Pearl said. “Believe it or not, that was part of our game plan, but we just didn’t execute it.”
Denying Clayton’s offense was not the only area of execution that came up short for Auburn. The Tigers were not the same team in the second half as they were in the first.
Auburn led 46-38 at halftime. Tigers 6-foot-10 star Johni Broome had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and Auburn was an impressive 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) on two-point field goals. They also held a 17-16 rebounding advantage and committed just two turnovers. Broome set the tone for the physicality for which Pearl was looking on the game’s opening possession, backing down his defender until he was close enough for a short jumper.
Everything changed after halftime.
After watching Florida’s frontcourt players get manhandled down low in the opening 20 minutes, Gators assistant Carlin Hartman lit into them at halftime. Just as Broome set the tone for the first half on the game’s first possession, Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu did so in the second half with a close-range shot just 12 seconds in.
Auburn eventually took a 49-40 lead, but the Gators had given notice on Chinyelu’s basket that things would be different. And they were. Florida won the rebounding battle 23-13 in the second half, forced 12 Auburn turnovers and held the Tigers to 5-of-14 shooting on two-point tries.
“Sloppy,” Pettiford said.
It was a complete 180 from the first half. After the break, it was Florida that out-executed and outmuscled Auburn.
“I just think that passing and catching and fighting for your real estate, getting your spots, not letting ’em push you out of position – I think that’s why we didn’t execute, ” Pearl said. “ … We just got a little out of sorts offensively. Guys just did not execute offensively what our game plan was like they did in the first half.”
“Bad decision-making, bad passing, catching,” Pearl added. “Took a lot of shots that we did not want to take.”
Certainly, Florida deserves some credit for that.
Broome, who was sensational throughout the tournament and during his Auburn career, had just three points in the second half, going 1-of-4 from the field. “I feel like we got the looks we wanted to get,” he said. “I wasn’t able to capitalize and finish ’em.”
It was quite a turnaround from the first half, during which, Florida coach Todd Golden said, “We didn’t have anybody that could stop him.”
The same could be said for Auburn against Clayton. The difference: Clayton continued his stellar play after the break. And his teammates came alive, too. When it ended, Clayton was the best guard on the floor and Florida’s frontcourt players were more physical and aggressive than Auburn’s.
And the Tigers are headed home because both went in Florida’s favor.
