GAME NOTES: The Florida Gators close out a brief two-game homestand on Thursday evening, as they play host to the Auburn Tigers in an SEC showdown at the O'Connell Center.

Billy Donovan's Gators haven't exactly lived up to their preseason hype, coming into this contest at a modest 9-6 overall. However, the team has opened SEC play strong, posting a road win at South Carolina (72-68) and a home win over Mississippi State (72-47) last time out.

Bruce Pearl's Tigers come into this clash with a bit of momentum as well. Auburn has won six of its last seven games, and evened up its conference mark at 1-1 with last weekend's 85-79 victory over Missouri.

Auburn holds an 87-75 lead in the all-time series with Florida, but the Gators have dominated under Donovan, winning 20 of the 24 meetings. Florida currently has won seven straight meetings and 17 of the last 18 overall.

The Tigers recorded their sixth come-from-behind win after trailing Missouri in the second half last Saturday. Junior Cinmeon Bowers had a huge game as he tied his career-high with 20 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds in the victory. Four other Tigers notched double figures in the scoring department as well. KT Harrell posted 14 points, followed by KC Ross-Miller (13 pts), Malcolm Canada (10 pts) and Tahj Shamsid-Deen (10 pts).

Offensive fireworks haven't been the norm for Auburn this season, as the team is netting just 68.3 ppg on a rather bland .419 shooting effort. Harrell is the top scoring threat on the roster and ranks third in the SEC at 17.0 ppg. Antoine Mason is next with 14.6 ppg, followed closely by Bowers' 13.7 ppg. The 6-7, 278-pound Bowers is tops in the conference in rebounding, grabbing 11.3 caroms per contest. Bowers has nine double-doubles this season and ranks sixth in the nation in rebounding.

Florida isn't known for its offensive proficiency either this season. The Gators are netting just 67.6 ppg, but make up for it by being extremely stingy at the defensive end. The team is yielding just 56.9 ppg (second in the SEC and 16th nationally), while holding foes to a mere .390 shooting. Offensively, the Gators are paced by two double-digit scoring threats in Dorian Finney- Smith and Michael Frazier. Finney-Smith is shooting an impressive .515 from the floor this season and tops the team with 14.1 ppg. Frazier isn't far behind with 13.7 ppg. The two have combined for 61 of the team's 107 3- pointers to date.

The Gators made light work of Mississippi State last Saturday, as they held the Bulldogs to a mere 47 points. Meanwhile, Florida shot the ball at a sizzling 52.8 percent clip and knocked down nine 3-pointers in the rout. Eli Carter led the charge, going 6-of-8 from the floor with four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points. Finney-Smith poured in 16 points, while Devin Robinson finished with 12.

Leaving Gainesville with a win is never easy for the visiting team. Despite Auburn's strong play of late, it is the Gators that will probably come out on top in this one. Expect a strong defensive effort by the home team here.