Auburn basketball bold predictions for 2025 Final Four vs. Florida
04/02/2025 04:59 PM
After months of scouting and surveying the top-25 teams in the country, the Final Four has delivered a group of the best that fans have watched dominate most of the season. On Saturday at 6:09 PM ET from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Auburn basketball will face Florida for a chance to continue its quest for a national title.
These two No. 1 seeds have survived the billow of intensity and unpredictability from the pressure cooker of March Madness. They are certainly here for a reason, just as the two No. 1 seeds are on the other side of the combat zone in Duke and Houston.
For Auburn basketball, head coach Bruce Pearl has heard the hate all season, especially since falling to the Gators 90-81 on February 8 in their own house at Neville Arena. But the Tigers have recaptured their confident swagger in the NCAA Tournament.
Earning the top overall seed in the field on Selection Sunday wasn't taken for granted. Pearl voiced his wrath after the team's sluggish showing in the Round of 64 against No. 16 Alabama State, via Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report.
“We gotta sharpen some things up,” head coach Bruce Pearl said on the CBS broadcast after the first-round 83-63 victory. “We didn’t play great. Good thing is we saw zone, we saw man, we saw a bunch of different things from Alabama State. They made us think a little bit. We’ve got to play a lot better to beat Creighton on Sunday."
Auburn fended off Creighton 82-70 in the second round, and cruised past No. 5 Michigan 78-65 in the Sweet Sixteen.
Here come the Tigers – one game away from where many pundits believed wasn't in the cards this season. They've embraced their end-of-year struggle. Beaten up by the ferocious SEC, and they've emerged stronger in March.
As fate would have it, the crown at the Big Dance goes through the best conference in college hoops. But who will be representing it? Auburn, or Florida?
Johni Broome will suit up and record another double-double
Despite heading to the locker room in the second half because of injuries to his left leg and right elbow, the All-American forward dominated Michigan State for a 25-and-14 double-double last Sunday.
Reflecting on Johni Broome's previous NCAA Tournament outings – (14-and-11 in Round of 64), (22-and-16 in Sweet Sixteen) – Florida is going to do its best with neutralizing Broome on defense.
However, head coach Todd Golden can't ignore the perimeter, where Auburn has shot 30.8 percent over their last four games.
Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones will combine for six made threes
Denver Jones laid a goose egg from behind the arc in the Elite Eight, and Tahaad Pettiford managed to hit 2-of-6. While it was enough to get the job done for the Tigers, the typically sharpshooting combo has to value the shot attempts to beat Florida.
The talented guards are more than capable. In the Sweet Sixteen, Pettiford and Jones each tallied 20 points that catapulted Auburn's second-half run to a double-digit win over the Wolverines. In that game, Jones went 4-of-7 from downtown, while Pettiford finished 2-of-7.
It's a great redemption spot for Jones, while the freshman sensation has proven that he's not afraid of the spotlight on the big stage.
Auburn basketball will lead all Final Four teams in scoring
In every remaining Final Four team, it's difficult to find a flaw. And Auburn is realizing its greatness at the right time. Coming off a bad shooting day against Michigan State, Pearl’s squad is going to do everything that it can to gain the scoring edge early.
Florida likes to set the pace. But it could spell trouble if a team makes them have to put points on the board early.
Look for the Tigers to settle the score in high-scoring fashion against the Gators.
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