The Auburn Tigers will face the North Alabama Lions later today after an eleven-day break after their win against Washington State, as they look to finish 2023 with a 10-2 record.
With North Alabama being the final game before the SEC regular season, Auburn is looking to capitalize on its current momentum and enter SEC conference play with ten wins and an eight-game winning streak. However before the Tigers enter SEC play, they will have to play strong against the Lions to enter the SEC on a win.
One of the things Auburn will want to remember heading into the game is the fact that this is not North Alabama's first time playing an SEC team, as earlier in the year they played Missouri at Missouri and lost 83-72, which while it is a loss gives North Alabama experience in SEC arenas and the SEC style of play.
Regarding players to watch for North Alabama, Alexis Callins and Alyssa Clutter are the two players the Tigers will want to keep from making big plays for an Auburn victory.
Alexis Callins is currently North Alabama's top scorer as she is averaging 17.5 points per game, is the only player who has an average above 12 points per game, which makes her the Lion's most dangerous offensive player and if she gets on a scoring run, Auburn could end up in some trouble.
On North Alabama's defensive side of the ball, Alyssa Clutter is averaging 5.1 rebounds per game and has 18 steals on the season, if she can cause some trouble for Auburn's guards the Tigers may have difficulty reaching the basket to score, and if they can't score effectively then North Alabama could pull off an upset.
In addition to the players of North Alabama, Auburn won't want to take this as an easy victory, especially after coming off an eleven-day break from their last game, and this being the last game before SEC play.
For Auburn, the players to watch are Honesty Scott-Grayson on offense and Mar'sahun Bostic on defense. Both Scott-Grayson and Bostic have had a great start to the 2023-2024 season, and if they continue to play strong, they should feel great about how they're playing entering the 2024 part of the season and SEC play.
Scott-Grayson leads the Tigers in points per game, averaging 15.8 points a game, and how she is not afraid to share the ball and currently has 26 assists on the season and is leading the Tigers' offense this season. Bostic on the other hand also has quite a few assists this season with 27, currently beat Scott-Grayson by one, but her major contribution to the team comes from her 24 steals, leading Auburn's defensive efforts on the court.
Overall, Auburn looks to be in great shape heading into SEC play, but they can't look over take North Alabama as an easy victory and come out playing strong despite the eleven-day break.
Despite the game being between the Auburn Tigers and North Alabama Lions the game is not in Oz, and will instead be played in Neville Arena at 2 pm CT.
