Florida @ Auburn preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 24, 2018 ) Auburn 66, Florida 72

Auburn dropped out of the top 25 after three straight setbacks, and since then, the Tigers have won two in a row, including an impressive 84-63 triumph over rival Alabama on Saturday. Bruce Pearl's troops go for three straight - all at home - as they host Florida on Tuesday, but the Gators have dominated this rivalry of late with 11 straight victories.

"I kind of feel like that wasn't a bad thing," Tigers senior guard Bryce Brown said of dropping out of the rankings. "I feel like we got that chip back on our shoulder a little bit. It kind of was a wakeup call for us. It was just time to wake up and play ball again." The Tigers have turned it on defensively in the two games since, holding Alabama to 63 points and Missouri to 58 thanks to 21 and 20 takeaways, respectively, far cries from the 82, 80 and 92 points they allowed during their three-game slide when they forced just 37 total turnovers. Defense also drives the Gators, who rank as the SEC's best scoring unit (62.8 ppg) after holding three of the last five opponents to 65 points or less. That includes shutting down No. 6 Kentucky, who came into Saturday's 65-54 win over Florida with the SEC's No. 4 scoring offense (79.9 ppg) and now Mike White's team is charged with doing the same to the No. 2 offense in the conference (84.2).

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT FLORIDA (12-9, 4-4 SEC): The defense was up to the task of shutting down Kentucky's prolific shooters Saturday, but the offense had its usual dry spell, as the team was outscored 34-12 in the final 13:53 - Florida went 5-for-22 - to hinder any chance the Gators had at pulling off the upset. Senior guard KeVaughn Allen (13.0 ppg) and freshman Noah Locke (11.4) are the team's top scoring threats, but even they disappeared against the Wildcats, combining to hit just 7-of-27 shots for a total of 17 points. Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard (12 points) wound up topping the Gators in scoring for the first time, but it will be his ability to create plays and avoid turnovers that will be critical against the opportunistic Tigers.

ABOUT AUBURN (15-6, 4-4): The Tigers' talented backcourt of Brown (20.0 ppg) and Jared Harper (16.5) combined for 42 points in the win over Alabama and they are averaging a total of 36.5 points in SEC action this season. The duo remains sharp from outside, hitting 43.7 percent of their 3-point shots for a total of 55 treys in conference play, numbers that will challenge Florida's stingy 3-point defense, the SEC's best (31.5 percent). After their performances against Missouri and Alabama, the Tigers are now tied for third in the nation with 18.9 turnovers forced per game as they have come up with at least 20 in nine games this season.

TIP-INS

1. Auburn has an 87-79 advantage in the series, but the Gators have won 21 of the last 22, with the Tigers' lone win during that time coming in the 2009 SEC tournament.

2. The Tigers are nailing 11.19 3-pointers per game, putting them on pace to finish with the 24th-best mark in NCAA history for long-distance shots per game in a season.

3. Allen (1,571 points) needs three points to pass Gene Shy and move into sole possession of ninth place all-time in Gators history.

PREDICTION: Auburn 69, Florida 64