A fight to the finish

AUBURN | With four weeks left in the regular season, No. 12 Auburn is in a tight battle for a third SEC Championship in six years.

The Tigers will enter Saturday’s game at Florida 19-4 overall and 8-2 in the conference. They’re in a three-way tie with No. 15 South Carolina and No. 16 Alabama for first place in the league with No. 6 Tennessee a half-game behind.

Auburn moved into the tie for first after Wednesday night’s 99-81 win over the Tide at Neville Arena.

“That was a must win,” said AU center Johni Broome. “They were first in the SEC and our goal is to win the SEC. We had to get a separator. We had to get one because a lot of people in the league ain’t going to beat Alabama.”

The win over UA was AU’s second Quad 1 win of the season. Three of the next five games will also be Quad 1’s including UF on the road, Kentucky at home and Tennessee on the road.

AU finishes out the season with three Quad 1, three Quad 2 and two Quad 3 games. AU’s biggest rivals for the top spot may have even tougher run-ins.

Alabama plays four Quad 1 and three Quad 2 games, Tennessee five Quad 1 and two Quad 2, and South Carolina five Quad 1 and one Quad 2.

Auburn, which split the series with Alabama, hosts South Carolina Feb. 14 and plays at Tennessee Feb. 28. AU finishes the regular season home against Mississippi State (Q2), at Missouri (Q3) and home against Georgia (Q3).

The SEC Tournament will be March 13-17 in Nashville.

Here’s a look at how the top four teams in the SEC Standings finish out the regular season…