Auburn (12-17, 3-13 SEC) enters the SEC Tournament on fire as winners of three straight games. They are set to take on the Florida Gators (13-16, 5-11 SEC) led by freshman phenom Haley Lorenzen on Wednesday, March 4, at the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Each year, there’s a team that shocks the nation and makes a Cinderella run into the NCAA Tournament. With this Auburn team getting dangerous at the right time, the glass slipper might fit for the Tigers.
Defensive pressure creating momentum for the Tigers
The biggest factor that can be attributed to Auburn’s rebirth over the past three games is their newfound commitment to defensive intensity; the same intensity that got the team off to a 9-4 start.
Auburn’s full-court press has been outstanding during their last three wins. The Tigers have forced their last three opponents into 72 total turnovers, leading to easy points on the offensive end.
“That is what we live for, that’s what we get out of our press,” sophomore guard Brandy Montgomery said. “That gives us our energy and our momentum. We get a turnover, we attack, we score, and the next thing you know, we are back in it.”
After their big home win against Alabama on Sunday, March 1, coach Terri Williams-Flournoy sees a new fire in her players, and said she feels her team is ready to make some noise this week in Little Rock.
“They figured out how to work harder,” Williams-Flournoy said. “They figured out that it’s not easy. More importantly, they figured out that [they] can’t just talk about it.”
Now playing inspired basketball, the Tigers have put the rest of the SEC on notice.
Montgomery, Jones getting buckets
Coming of a career-high 30-point game, guard Brandy Montgomery continues to pace the Tigers offensively as the rest of the young roster continues to develop.
No player on the roster has matured more over the past few games than freshman forward Jazmine Jones, has was recently named SEC Freshman of the Week.
Jones has scored 31 points over the last two games including a career-high 21-point game on 10-of-11 in the win over Vanderbilt on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Last game against the Gators
Florida upended the Tigers in Auburn Arena 63-50 in their last meeting Jan. 4.
Hasina Muhammad, who is no longer with the team, filled up the stat sheet for Auburn with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Tra’Cee Tanner added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Brook Copeland played 28 minutes and netted 12 points off the bench. Lorenzen scored 10-points and was 4-for-5 from the floor for the Gators.
The Gators shut Auburn down, holding them to 33 percent shooting. Although Auburn forced Florida into 27 turnovers, the Tigers turned the ball over 20 times themselves, and were minus eight on the glass.
Prediction
This isn’t the same Auburn team that lost to Florida on Jan. 4.
While Auburn has won three in a row, Florida has dropped four of their last five games to end the regular season.
These teams are trending in opposite directions, and this first round matchup is expected to be far more competitive than the previous meeting between the schools.
Florida’s size will continue to give the Tigers trouble. Senior center Tra’Cee Tanner can help Auburn counter that issue, but she can’t do it alone. The Tigers will need a full team effort to keep the Gators off the glass.
Auburn is more active defensively, they forcing more turnovers, and this time they are making their opponents pay.
With Montgomery averaging 22.3 points per game in her last three outings for Auburn, the Tigers should be able to score enough points to hang with the Gators this time around.
For two straight games, four Auburn players have reached double figures in the scoring column, and that balanced scoring output must carry over for the Tigers to take down Florida.
The Tigers are 2-1 at neutral sites this season, and with so many new factors, my guess is just as good as yours; this game could go either way.
So grab a spot on the couch, kick back, and get comfortable, because this one is going down to the wire, and it’s going to be a good one.
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