01/24 at 11:38 PM

The conversation between two Auburn students went something like this ...

“You going to the game Sunday?” the slightly smaller 18-something asked his buddy, halfway joking.

“You know it!” the bigger 18-something said without flinching.

He’s going. He wouldn’t miss it. And by the sound of it, neither will you. Or anyone for that matter.

The Game is here. And it’s going to be huge.

And it has nothing to do with football. (Gasp!)

In any other year at Auburn, The Game is played on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in the fall.

But not this year. Not by a long shot.

This year, The Game is at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

This year, The Game is on the hardwood.

This year, The Game is Auburn vs. Tennessee. 

This year, The Game is basketball. Women’s basketball.

Catch the fever.

And if you haven’t, check your pulse.

This year, the hottest ticket in town is to watch women’s hoops. Believe it. Wait, you already do.

Good. Now get ready. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Today at 2 p.m., the No. 6, undefeated Auburn women’s basketball team will host perennial, mythical, makes-opponents-knees-shake-at-the-sight-of-its-orange-colored-jerseys Tennessee in one of the biggest women’s basketball games of the season.

The Lady Vols are currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, sporting a 15-3 record. Auburn’s 19-0, and one of just two undefeated teams left in the country.

But don’t let the records fool you. It’s still Tennessee. It’s still the program whose head coach is the winningest coach (of any division or gender) in all of college basketball. Under Pat Summitt, who is going for her 999th win today, the Lady Vols have won won eight national championships, 14
SEC titles and 104 NCAA Tournament games.

Like Auburn senior DeWanna Bonner told reporters Thursday night after beating Alabama, “It’s Tennessee, for God’s sake.”

Amen.

And today, it’s Tennessee vs. Auburn. The biggest game that Beard-Eaves has seen this decade, if not longer.

And guess what? The Tigers are the favorite. That’s right, the team that’s only beaten Tennessee once in the last 25 meetings is the front-runner. 

And it should be. All Auburn’s done this year is win. Again and again.

This is the best team Nell Fortner’s had in her five years on the Plains, and quite possibly the best ever to wear an Auburn uniform.

Not taking anything away from Joe Ciampi’s tremendous teams of the ’80s and ’90s, which went to three consecutive Final Fours (1988-90) and made 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, but this year’s squad is just as talented as any to play at Auburn.

And they have a chance to do something Ciampi and his teams never did — win it all.

But that’s a long way away. Maybe too long. Fortner would not be happy if she knew we were talking like this.

Today’s game is first.

THE GAME.

Against THE Lady Vols.

You going?

You know it.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513.