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Charles Barkley lauds work of Todd Golden for strategy vs. Auburn
By Mark Kern
Published:
Charles Barkey was dealing with all of the emotions during the game involving his beloved Auburn Tigers against Florida in the Final Four. The Tigers were looking for their first-ever appearance in a national championship, but fell to the Gators, 79-73.
The loss ends 1 of the greatest seasons in Auburn basketball history. The Tigers won the SEC regular season title, while also clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The appearance in the Final Four was only the second in the history of the program, with the other being in 2019 against Virginia.
Like Auburn fans, Barkley was heartbroken for the Tigers to see their season end. However, he wanted to give a shoutout to Florida coach Todd Golden, giving him credit for his strategy against Auburn.
“I want to give Coach (Todd) Golden some love too, his strategy was fantastic,” Barkley said. “What he did was Auburn got kind of lulled to sleep. You could tell Coach Pearl said we don’t want to get in a run-and-gun game situation. They were walking the ball up the floor, giving it to Broome, and Kenny touched on it; they (Florida) just wore him down with the 3 big guys.”
Broome finished the game with 15 points and 7 rebounds, but his last made FG was at the 15:12 mark in the 2nd half.
Florida can get out and score with anybody in the country, and in the previous matchup between the 2 teams, Florida won, 90-81. The loss puts Auburn at 32-6 to end the season, while the Gators now await the winner of the second Final Four game between Duke and Houston.
