3 takeaways from Auburn's dominant SEC Tournament title game win over Florida

Auburn defeated Florida 86-67 in the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers will head into the NCAA Tournament as the SEC’s auto-bid and could be as high as a No. 2 seed for the Big Dance. Florida, who lost starting center Micah Handlogten in the opening minutes of this game to a gruesome leg injury, will need to re-group ahead of next week’s first round matchup.

This is Auburn’s first SEC Tournament title since 2019. Johni Broome was named MVP of the SEC Tournament after the game. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in the win.

Here are 3 takeaways from this game:

Auburn’s defense won the day

Auburn’s 86 points in this game look impressive, but the Tigers won this game on the defensive end of the floor. Florida shot just 36.4% from the field and 7.7% (1-of-13) from 3-point range in the loss.

Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. have led Florida’s back court all season, but they shot just 7-of-23 from the floor against the Tigers. No one else was able to pick up the slack, as Tyrese Samuel, Will Richard, Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon scored a combined 33 points on 36 shots.

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Florida’s Micah Handlogten goes down with scary injury

Micah Handlogten suffered a serious injury just a couple minutes into this game. He appeared to fracture his left leg while jumping for a rebound and later was stretchered off the court.

This is a big loss for Florida moving forward, as Handlogten has started 32 games for the Gators at center this season. He averages 20 rebounds per 100 possessions this year, which leads all Florida players.

Florida will need to re-group over the next week as it prepares for its first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament implications

Auburn was a No. 3 seed in Joe Lunardi’s updated bracketology projection on Sunday morning. A dominant win over the Gators could be enough to propel Auburn as high as the No. 2-line, although that is unlikely. The Tigers were the No. 12 team in Lunardi’s seed list, meaning they were the final 3-seed.

It’s more likely that Auburn’s win over Florida merely secured it a No. 3 seed in the Big Dance. It would Auburn’s highest seed since it was a No. 2 seed in 2022.

As for Florida, the Gators were a No. 5 seed entering the day per Lunardi. Despite the loss to Auburn, Florida had a great week in Nashville as it reached the SEC title game for the first time since 2014.

The NCAA Tournament bracket reveal show is slated for 6 p.m. ET.