Bruce Pearl is always about his history.

With Florida, for example, the past isn't kind to Auburn. Pearl noted Friday when previewing the Gators that, in this battle of orange and blues, the Tigers haven't won in Gainesville since 1996.

And, prior to last season's victory in Auburn Arena, the Tigers had lost 21 of the previous 22 meetings.

But Auburn (15-1, 3-1 SEC) is all about bucking the trends of history under Pearl.

His team will look to right the ship after an ugly first loss of the season, 83-64 at the hands of rival Alabama on Wednesday. Pearl said he expects an even more raucous environment than that of Alabama's, and that Florida is worlds more talented than its 11-5 record would indicate.

"[Florida] played a really tough nonconference schedule and had some tough losses," Pearl said. "But right now they’re playing well."

Mike White's Gators were a preseason top-10 team — tabbed by many as a likely contender for an SEC title and possibly even a Final Four appearance. That was due to the Gators boasting one of the more talented rosters in the conference, led by Virginia Tech transfer and SEC preseason Player of the Year selection Kerry Blackshear.

Blackshear leads UF (11-5, 3-1 SEC) in both scoring (15.0 points per game) and rebounding (8.4 per game). His matchup against Auburn senior center Austin Wiley under the rim is, according to Pearl, a big key to winning the game for either team.

"They’ve got good inside-outside, got really good size," Pearl said. "It’ll be a great matchup between Blackshear and Austin Wiley — two of the better big men in the country. Certainly two of the best big men in the league. Blackshear was preseason player of the year, and Austin was second-team. So that’ll be a great matchup."

Auburn is also wary, especially after a poor showing in this department Wednesday, of Florida's frontcourt led by point guard Andrew Nembhard.

"Nembhard is one of the biggest, most physical, point guards in our league," Pearl said. "He gets you on his hip and he’s a physical presence."

Nembhard, who averages 11 points per game and is among the top passers in the SEC with six assists per game, was locked up well by Auburn's Jared Harper during last season's games against Florida, Pearl said. The Tigers will look to J'Von McCormick and Samir Doughty to do the same Saturday.

Pearl considers the Gators one of the more complex teams, both offensively and defensively, that his Tigers will face this season. That, coupled with the enemy of time, leads him to believe Auburn will need to play its best ball of season to emerge victorious from The Swamp.

"Florida played at home Tuesday. We played the late game on Wednesday at Alabama, didn’t get back til 2:30 in the morning," Pearl said. "It’ll be a quick turnaround. And we head out this afternoon. We have enough time to get prepared but they obviously have had some extra time."

Tipoff from Exactech Arena is set for 12:30 p.m. CST on CBS. The Gators opened as 2-point favorites.

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