In the final matchup of the regular season, the Auburn Tigers (18-10, 7-8) will travel down to the swamp to take on the Florida Gators (14-13, 5-10).
After a big win over Mississippi State in the midweek game, the Tigers are inching closer to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-2019 season. Auburn is currently living on the bubble as a projected Last Four In team, per ESPN Bracketology.
Just two seasons ago, the Tigers had a conference record of 2-14. After a complete turnaround by head coach Johnnie Harris, Auburn could move to eight wins in conference play with a win in Gainesville.
The Tigers will surely need another big performance from graduate student Honesty Scott-Grayson. In her last time out, Scott-Grayson scored a career high 32 points to lead her team to victory on senior night.
Scott-Grayson has been the driving force behind Auburn’s season, averaging 18.4 points per game on over 41% shooting.
“I think about Honesty having the opportunity to go pro last year,” Harris said. “She wanted to come back to help lead this team to a tournament. I feel like she’s done everything she could to make that happen, and we want to do everything we can to help her make that happen.”
For the Tigers, the Florida game may be one that determines their NCAA Tournament fate, but the approach does not change for Harris and her squad.
“I just want them to approach that game the way we’ve been approaching every game,” Harris said. “They always know I want them to be relentless.”
A roadblock in the Tigers’ way to their eighth conference victory of the season awaits however. Gator seniors Aliyah Matharu and Leilani Correa are no strangers to the score sheet. Correa has gone for over 30 points in SEC play three times already, and Matharu leads the team in scoring, going for 18.1 points per game this season.
Already out of tournament contention themselves, barring a deep run in the SEC tournament, Florida will look to play spoiler to Auburn’s big aspirations. The Tigers will certainly have other plans.
The crucial matchup for the Tigers will tip off this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. CT and can be found live on the SEC Network. Auburn Sports Network will also have the radio call from Gainesville.
