Florida vs. Auburn basketball injury report and predictions, April 5: Latest on Johni Broome and more
Florida vs. Auburn is the first of two Final Four matchups taking place on Saturday. The No. 1 Florida Gators are taking on the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. EDT. The winner will advance to the national championship game to take on the winner of Duke vs Houston.
Coming into this game, both teams are fortunate to have relatively healthy rosters. Neither team has injuries that are expected to keep their players out of the game. However, each team does have players listed on the injury report.
Florida vs. Auburn basketball injury report
Olivier Rioux, Florida
Olivier Rioux is a 7-foot-9 center who committed to Florida this past season as a recruit. However, shortly into the season, it was announced that he is redshirting. As a result, he has not played any games this season and will not be available for Florida vs. Auburn.
Johni Broome, Auburn
Auburn star Johni Broom briefly exited Sunday's game against Michigan State with a right elbow injury but returned to the game. Fortunately for the Tigers, it was later confirmed that it was nothing serious and he is expected to be available against Florida.
Abdul Bashir, Auburn
Abdul Bashir committed to come to Auburn in February but is not eligible to join the Tigers. Since he transferred mid-season from JUCO Casper College, he is not eligible to play for the Tigers until next season and will not be available for the Florida vs. Auburn matchup as a result.
Florida vs. Auburn basketball prediction
The Final Four is here and the highly anticipated matchup between the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers will kick things off as these teams vie for a spot in the national championship game. Florida is coming into this game off a narrow 84-79 win over No. 3 Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
It has not been an easy journey for the Florida Gators to the Final Four. They were also nearly eliminated in the second round by No. 8 UConn, narrowly escaping the game with a 77-75 win.
Auburn has not had many close calls, but its Elite Eight matchup against No. 2 Michigan State was tightly contested. The Tigers defeated the Spartans 70-64 to secure their spot in the Final Four.
While Florida has had more trouble throughout the March Madness Tournament, it remains the favorites. DraftKings has it as a -155 favorite and the Tigers as a +130 underdog.
While the sportsbooks have the Gators as the favorites, we favor the Tigers. Auburn has been more consistent throughout the tournament and we think it has what it takes to beat Florida on Saturday.
Prediction: Auburn 80, Florida 78