Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said before Saturday’s game against No. 6 Florida that the Gators would be one of his team’s toughest tests all season.

That proved true as No. 1 Auburn lost 90-81, breaking a 14-game winning streak and giving the Tigers their first home loss of the season.

Florida held control from the latter part of the first half on, picking up its most impressive win of the season.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

Walter Clayton Jr. delivered

Few teams in the country have as much firepower in its backcourt as Florida.

Starting point guard Walter Clayton Jr. leads the offensive charge and came into Saturday’s game averaging 17.4 points per game, ranking eighth in the Southeastern Conference.

Against Auburn, he nearly hit his average in the first half, scoring 16 and giving Florida a 10-point lead, Auburn’s largest halftime deficit in SEC play this season. Clayton even did it without his backcourt partner Alijah Martin (15.3 PPG) who was ruled out shortly before tipoff.

Clayton was potent from long range, finishing the game with four made 3-pointers on eight attempts. His 3-point attempts seemed to be from deeper and deeper as the game went on and he made a number of plays off the dribble that Auburn struggled to find an answer for.

Defensive letdown

Auburn’s defense has been especially good at home this season, holding the best effective field goal percentage defense in the country in home games, according to barttorvik.com.

That wasn’t the case against Florida, as the Tigers gave up 90 points and 1.250 points per possession. Ninety was the most Auburn has allowed in a game this season.

Clayton was the focal point of Florida’s offensive success, but Florida’s frontcourt was up to the task too. Forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds, outplaying Auburn’s multi-talented frontcourt.

Haugh had a sequence right at the seven-minute mark that felt like a turning point in the game, where he grabbed two offensive rebounds on one possession leading to a Florida 3-pointer.

It came at a time when Auburn had just cut the deficit back to nine, but the play stopped any Auburn momentum going into the ensuring media timeout.

Not the Tigers’ night

Basketball doesn’t always make sense.

It’s a game of runs, effort and oftentimes, a good bit of luck. As proven by the rest of the season, you’d expect Auburn to make for than 50% of its layups, but against Florida, many — including open ones — rolled off the rim rather than putting points on the board.

Auburn’s star big man Johni Broome finished the game with 18 points but missed a number of shots around the rim that he’d normally convert without much trouble. The Tigers also shot 32% from 3, a number it often breezes past with ease.

On the other side, Florida had it going. It seemed like every roll went the Gators’ way, and big shot after big shot seemed to go in whenever Auburn made a short run to come back in the second half.

Fortunately for the Tigers, one loss in early February won’t do much to change the trajectory of the season. But that doesn’t make losing on your home court any easier.