The Auburn women's basketball team plays a first-round SEC tournament game against Florida this afternoon in Duluth, Ga. Here's how my story in today's paper starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — When the SEC women’s basketball tournament schedule was finalized last week, Auburn couldn’t have come out with a more fortuitous draw.

Top-seeded Tennessee, red-hot LSU and personal nemesis Vanderbilt all reside on the other side of the bracket. The Tigers’ half includes four teams they’ve beaten and another they took to double overtime on the road.

“I think it’s a wide-open tournament, more so than it ever has been” Auburn coach Nell Fortner said.

A Women’s National Invitation Tournament berth for the 10th-seeded Tigers (14-15, 5-11 SEC) rides on how they fare in the four-day SEC tournament at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., starting today against seventh-seeded Florida at 2:30 p.m.

Auburn must win twice to guarantee a .500 overall record, making it eligible for the 64-team WNIT. Failing to do so could relegate the Tigers to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational, a 16-team tournament that does not require a winning record.

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Here's the full schedule for the tournament:

FIRST ROUND
Thursday, March 4

• Game 1 - #8 Ole Miss vs. #9 South Carolina [FSN] - 11 a.m. CT
• Game 2 - #7 Florida vs. #10 Auburn [FSN] - 1:30 p.m. CT
• Game 3 - #5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 Arkansas [FSN] - 5:30 p.m. CT
• Game 4 - #6 Georgia vs. #11 Alabama [FSN] - 8 p.m. CT

SECOND ROUND
Friday, March 5

• Game 5 - #1 Tennessee vs. Game 1 winner [FSN] - 11 a.m. CT
• Game 6 - #2 Kentucky vs. Game 2 winner [FSN] - 1:30 p.m. CT
• Game 7 - #4 LSU vs. Game 3 winner [FSN] - 5:30 p.m. CT
• Game 8 - #3 Mississippi State vs. Game 4 winner [FSN] - 8 p.m. CT

SEMINFINALS
Saturday, March 6

• Game 9 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner [ESNPU] - 2:30 p.m. CT
• Game 10 - Game 6 winner vs. Game 8 winner [ESPNU] - 5 p.m. CT

FINALS
Sunday, March 7

• Game 11 - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner [ESPN2] - 5:30 p.m. CT