The Tigers will travel to Greenville, S.C. to begin postseason play. They will first face the Gators who are 5-11 in SEC play and 14-16 overall. Auburn is 3-13 in SEC play and 12-17 overall.
The two teams faced off earlier in the season, where Auburn won in dominant fashion 74-51. DeYona Gaston had 18 points that game and Yuting Deng had 16. Mar’shaun Bostic also had 11 assists.
Auburn was able to hold both Ra Shaya Kyle and Liv McGill to 11 points, where they average 14.6 and 16.2 points respectively. Auburn played great defense and forced 24 turnovers. Replicating these trends will be key for Auburn to take this game and continuing tournament play.
The Tigers have been cold since this game, however, losing their last seven out of eight games. This does not mean the team cannot get hot in tournament play as the team started the season 11-10 and can quickly regain its early season confidence.
Auburn is coming off a loss to Mississippi State in which they led at the half 31-24. The Tigers must finish better and compete down the stretch to stay in these close games. This will be crucial for the SEC tournament, where Auburn will be facing many good teams that it has to finish better against to continue postseason play.
The Gators are coming off a loss against No. 1 Texas 72-46. Expect Florida to come out aggressive and ready to play coming off a big loss like that.
A key for Auburn has been its defense this year as Bostic and Gaston combined for 10 steals last game against Mississippi State. The team ranks 7th in defensive rating in the SEC and holds their opponents to 64.8 ppg. The Tigers also rank eighth in steals. The defense has allowed Auburn to stay in close games against tough SEC opponents.
Florida is ranked 15th in turnover margin, so it will be significant for Auburn to force turnovers to a team that has had many this season and already a ton in the previous matchup. Winning the turnover game may directly impact who wins the game down the stretch.
Another area to look at in this game is rebounds. Florida ranks seventh in the SEC in combined team rebounds, while Auburn is last in the SEC. It will be crucial for Auburn to get rebounds against a bigger team like Florida.
Gaston will also need to have a big night like she has so many times this season. She averages 22.5 points-per-game which is third in the SEC and has had five games of 29+ points this season.
The Tigers have their work cut out for them this SEC tournament, where they face Florida on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. CST. If Auburn wins that game, it will face its biggest rival Alabama on Thursday March 5 at the same time.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Tyler Cox is a sophomore from Atlanta majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
