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SEC Preview: South Carolina, Mississippi State, Tennessee and much more

By Blake DuDonis

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick is interviewed by former Lady Vol, now ESPN commentator, Kara Lawson after a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 16, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee upset the Irish 71-69. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick is interviewed by former Lady Vol, now ESPN commentator, Kara Lawson after a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on January 16, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee upset the Irish 71-69. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Auburn Tigers
Predicted finish: 12th  

Key returners (last season’s stats)
G- Janiah McKay- 5’6, JR- 12.9 PPG, 37%FG, 22% 3pt, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 28 MPG
F- Jazmine Jones- 6’2, SR-  4.5 PPG, 48%FG, 4.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 23 MPG
F- Jessica Jones- 6’2, SR- 3.8 PPG, 51%FG, 5.2 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 27 MPG

Biggest losses (last season’s stats)
G/F- Katie Frerking, 6’1- 15.7 PPG, 41%FG, 31% 3pt, 6.3 RPG, 2.6 SPG, 3 APG, 34 MPG, Second Team All-SEC, All Defensive, SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year
G- Brandy Montgomery, 5’10- 13.3 PPG, 38% FG, 33% 3pt, 3.0 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 28 MPG

Newcomers
F- Unique Thompson, 6’3, (Theodore, AL), FR- Ranked #76 in 2017 class, #15 power forward
C- Justice Wright, 6’4 (Clemson), JR- Ranked #182 in 2014 class, #22 center, averaged 4.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG in 2015-16 at Clemson
G- Sira Toure, 5’9, (Weber State) SR- Played in one game last season after becoming eligible in December
F- Abigayle Jackson, 6’3, (Little Rock, AR), FR
F- Kiyae’ White, 6’2, (Macungie, PA), FR
G- Isabella Lopez, 5’7, (Broward, FL), FR

Head Coach- Terri Williams-Flournoy, 6th season
Terri Williams-Flournoy enters her sixth season at Auburn, having lead the team to the NCAA tournament the past two seasons. Williams-Flournoy came to Auburn after a successful eight-year run at Georgetown, leading the Hoyas to the NCAA tournament her last three seasons there while complying a 73-27 record over that same time period. Despite making the tournament the past two seasons, the success Coach Flo had at Georgetown has not followed her entirely to Auburn. In her five seasons, Auburn’s best finish in conference was two seasons ago when the team tied for seventh place with an 8-8 SEC record, the only season the Tigers haven’t been under .500 in conference. Coach Flo plays an aggressive, full court pressing style that causes a lot of chaos on the floor, especially for teams that don’t have good point guard play.

Key non-conference games
Nov. 13- @ Virginia Tech
Nov. 26- Chattanooga (neutral site)
Dec. 3- @ Indiana

Outlook
There is no way to sugar coat it: Auburn lost a lot from last season. Though it was only two players in Katie Frerking and Brandy Montgomery, those two combined to score 29 PPG and accounted for 117 of the 181 made three point shots for the Tigers last season. Pressing the entire game is something unique that Auburn presents to their opponents and that can certainly cover up other weakness the team may have. Speaking of unique, freshman Unique Thompson was a great get by this coaching staff and should step in immediately and help on both ends of the floor. Janiah McKay is a player who can do a lot for her team, but the question is who else will step up offensively and help her. Even with their solid roster last season, Auburn’s only two notable wins were Indiana (4 points) and Tennessee (18 points). Auburn will force a ton of turnovers and score off of them, but team’s that handle their pressure well have a huge advantage as the Tigers simply don’t have enough sure things on offense to score enough. If you try to beat them in a track meet, Auburn will have a chance, but if you slow things down and make them work on offense, then the Tigers will struggle mightily. With so many newcomers, its hard to say what happens, but there are some big question marks with this team.

Best Case Scenario- McKay and the Jones twins all make huge leaps, Thompson competes for Freshman of the Year, defense leads to easy offense as the team comes in 7th

Worst Case Scenario- The absence of Frerking and Montgomery are too much to bear, offense struggles, team fights to come in 13th

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