The Tigers are looking to complete the sweep against Florida and pick up their first SEC road win of the year as they travel to the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida.
Auburn sits at 13-10 on the year and 2-7 in SEC play and are looking to get back in the win column after a brutal four game stretch against top ranked opponents in the country. The Tigers beat the Gators earlier in the year 60-50, led by three scorers in double figures in Kaitlyn Duhon, Harissoum Coulibaly and Mya Petticord. Coulibaly and Duhon led the way with 14 points, and Petticord added 11 points and three 3-pointers.
“In our first three SEC games, we’ve been clawing from behind,” head coach Larry Vickers said. “We wanted to do a better job in first quarters. I thought they did an excellent job coming out with a ton of energy and it carried on from there.”
This was coach Vickers after the win versus the Gators where the Tigers got it going early and were not playing from behind. The Tigers will look to try and replicate that start and come out of the gates with energy.
On the other hand, Florida is led by do-it-all-guard Liv McGill who is second in the SEC in scoring at 22.5 points per game with just under six rebounds and six assists per game. Me'Arah O'Neal is Florida's second leading scorer at 14.0 points per game and 7.0 rebounds. This duo is one of the best in the SEC and accounts for most of the Gators production.
In the first matchup McGill and O'Neal were the only Gators in double figures, but Auburn forced McGill into a tough shooting day at 6-for-20 from the field and 1-for-8 from three. Limiting these two will be key for the Tigers.
The Gators are 13-11 on the year and 1-8 in SEC play. The Gators average 74.3 points per game, while allowing 65.9 points per contest. In these teams' first matchup this year on Jan. 11, the Tigers held Florida to a season low 50 points.
In the first matchup the Gators turned the ball over 19 times. Auburn's defense is currently only giving up 61.1 points per game, which ranks above average in the SEC. Auburn's defense will need to set the tone early again in order to stop the second leading scorer in the SEC.
Both Auburn and Florida sit towards the bottom of the deep and talented SEC so this will be a nice game for either of these teams to get. Florida has dropped three straight games, all to top 10 ranked teams in the country.
The Tigers and Gators tip off at 6:00 p.m. CST in Gainesville on Thursday, Feb. 5. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
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