Auburn vs. Florida player props, ATS picks: SEC rivals tangle in Final Four

This year's highly anticipated NCAA Final Four starts off with a bang with Auburn (1) vs. Florida (1) in San Antonio on Saturday night.

Both the Gators and Tigers earned 1-seeds after outstanding seasons in the loaded SEC.

These teams met once during the regular season, at Neville Arena on February 8. Florida entered that one as a 10.5-point road dog vs. then-top-ranked Auburn, but won 90-81 as five Gators scored at least 10 points.

Auburn vs. Florida Odds: Spread, ML, Total

Florida (34-4, 14-4 SEC) finished just behind regular-season champ Auburn in the SEC standings, but blew by Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee in the conference tourney to cut down the nets in Nasvhille. That run secured the Gators a top seed and solidified them as the second-favorites to win it all (behind Duke) going into the Big Dance.

Florida hasn't exactly been dominant throughout the NCAAT. It had to survive scares against UConn in the round of 32 and Texas Tech, which held a subsantial late lead, in the Elite Eight. UF nevertheless enters the Final Four with the second-shortest odds to win it all after the Blue Devils.

Auburn (32-5, 15-3 SEC) was the top-ranked team in the country throughout most of January and February, but lost three of four games entering the NCAA Tournament.

That skid raised some questions about the Tigers' Final Four and national championship credentials. Now, though, following impressive NCAAT wins over Creighton, Michigan and Michigan State, it's clear that skepticism of Auburn was not well-founded.

How to Watch Auburn vs. Florida

• Tipoff: 6:09 p.m. ET
• Channel: CBS

Best Auburn vs. Florida Player Props

Johni Broome u19.5 points (-118 at FanDuel, BetMGM) -- 1 unit

Auburn's All-American big man has been a machine all year, but he has a tough matchup on Saturday.

Broome averages 18.7 points per game and scored 20 or more in 19 of Auburn's 35 games this year. While he finished with 18 points in the Tigers' first matchup vs. Florida, he needed 19 field-goal attempts -- which is well over his season average of 14 FGA per game -- to get there.

Broome, a 51 percent shooter from the floor this year, shot just 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from the field vs. the Gators' deep, imposing frontcourt. It's also worth noting that Florida had just three of its four-man rotation of post players in that game, as 7-footer Micah Handlogten was injured.

Handlogten is probably the least heralded member of the Gators' deep rotation, but he'll play a key role in this game as yet another big body for Broome to contend with.

It's hard to rule out Broome finishing with solid numbers, but collectively, Florida bigs Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Handlogten are well-suited to keep him under 20 points.

One last reason to fade Broome (the following stats are all according to Bart Torvik): Florida finished No. 15 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, No. 5 in effective field goal percentage defense and No. 15 in 2-point percentage D, so this a tough spot for any Auburn player looking to do his damage inside the arc.

Thomas Haugh o18.5 Total Pts + Rebs (-108 at FanDuel) -- 1 unit

He's hardly under-the-radar to anyone who watched Florida's comeback win over Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, but Haugh is still an underrated player off of Florida's deep bench.

His minutes have spiked at the right time, as he's logged 27 or more in each of Florida's last three games. Obviously, if Haugh -- who had 22 points + rebounds in 32 minutes vs. Maryland in the Sweet 16 and 31 P+R in 30 minutes in UF's Elite Eight win over TT -- is hot from outside tonight, he'll go over this number with ease.

But he's playing well enough right now that I like him to play at least 25 minutes and flirt with a double-double, with or without a big night from the 3-point line. And remember, Haugh was outstanding in the first Florida vs. Auburn matchup, with 16 points and 9 rebounds in 28 minutes on 4-for-10 FG shooting.

Auburn vs. Florida Prediction, Best Bets

Ruling out Broome and Auburn is risky, especially given how up-and-down Florida has been in this tournament.

That being said, this is a favorable matchup for the Gators, and I would like their chances even if it were possible to ignore the result of the previous meeting between these two.

Auburn certainly has the firepower to pull this off even if Broome is kept in check, especially if it gets hot from deep.

Still, if this game is decided by guard play, I like Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin to make one or two more big plays/big shots than the talented Auburn backcourt of Chad Baker-Mazara, Tahaad Pettiford, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones.

If the Gators were more substantial favorites, I'd take Auburn to at least cover the spread, but I like Florida to win a tight one and the over in a matchup of two of the deepest, most potent offensive teams in the nation.

Auburn vs. Florida Best Bets

• Florida -2.5 (-110 at bet365) -- 1 unit
• Over 159.5 (-110 at DK, bet365) -- 1 unit

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