No. 1 Auburn suffers first SEC loss, losing big at home to No. 6 Florida, 90-81

No. 1 Auburn is no longer undefeated in the SEC. The Tigers went down and went down hard at home to No. 6 Florida on Saturday, losing 90-81.

The win is the first in Gators program history over a No. 1 team on the road.

The Tigers built an early 15-5 lead six minutes into the first half, but the Gators subsequently took the lead with an 18-7 run punctuated by a Will Richard 3-pointer that put them on top, 23-22. Auburn went back up, 31-25, on a Miles Kelly 3 and Johni Broome layup and appeared to weather Florida's rally. But the Gators went on a 23-7 surge during the final six minutes of the half for a 48-38 lead at the break.

Florida didn't back down as the second half began, eventually extending its lead to 60-43 on a long 3 from Walter Clayton Jr. The Gators eventually expanded their lead to 21 points on a 3 from Urban Klavzar. That was Auburn's largest deficit of the season, topping an 18-point margin at No. 5 Iowa State in November. (The Tigers rallied to win that game, 83-81.)

Auburn finally reduced the margin to single digits on a 3 by Kelly with 8:33 remaining. But Denzel Aberdeen expanded the lead back to 12 with a 3 after it appeared that the Tigers' Chad Baker-Mazara had been fouled at the other end of a floor after Broome hit a short jumper. The Tigers could never get closer than within nine points for the remainder of the game.

With the win, Florida improved to 20-3 overall and 7-3 in the SEC, tied with Texas A&M for third place in the conference. Auburn dropped to 21-2 and 9-1 in conference. Alabama could tie them for first in the standings with a win at Arkansas on Saturday night.

Up next for Florida is another SEC matchup with a top 25 opponent, Sunday at No. 22 Mississippi State (16-6, 4-5). Auburn travels to Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5) to try and shake off its first conference defeat