by Andy Bitter, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga. , Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

"We haven't beaten anyone yet," she said. "We haven't won anything yet. We haven't done anything yet. So we are still very hungry."

The No. 9 Tigers (15-0) begin the SEC portion of their schedule tonight at 7 at South Carolina (5-8), hoping to extend what is their best start to a season in 20 years.

Auburn's 1986-87 squad won its first 19 games. In the 1988-89 season, the Tigers reeled off 28 straight regular season wins before losing to Tennessee in the SEC tournament.

Fortner still doesn't buy into the fact that Auburn is a target.

"If there's a bull's-eye on our back, we don't see it," she said. "Everybody else has a bull's-eye on their back as far as we're concerned. We're trying to get some place, and you've got to win to do that."

The pollsters seem to agree. Three of the remaining unbeatens -- Connecticut, North Carolina and Texas A&M -- rank 1, 2 and 3, respectively, in the latest Associated Press poll.

Auburn comes in at No. 9, behind a pair of two-loss teams, including No. 7 Tennessee, the preseason pick to win the SEC , which recently rallied from 20 points down to stun Rutgers on the road.

"Tennessee is not going to ever have a down year," Fortner said.

But the Tigers might match up well. Their preseason slate, while lacking any marquee names, included wins against five teams in the RPI top-100 -- No. 17 Ohio State, Temple, George Washington, N.C. State and Duquesne.

Auburn has a legitimate star in DeWanna Bonner (18.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg), who is making a case for national player of the year.

She has plenty of complementary parts, including point guard and offensive catalyst Whitney Boddie (8.6 ppg, 7.3 apg) and guards Sherrell Hobbs (12.4 ppg) and Alli Smalley (13.7 ppg).

The Tigers' up-tempo offense averages 81.0 points per game, sixth most in the country. And despite losing forward Jordan Greenleaf for the season to a knee injury, Auburn hasn't been overwhelmed in the post, thanks to Trevesha Jackson and the emergence of 6-foot-7 center Keke Carrier, who returned after redshirting last season.

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme has gone as far as to predict Auburn will make the Final Four this season.

Fortner is trying to block out any such distractions and keep her team focused on what she expects to be a difficult SEC schedule.

"It's like it's a whole new season," she said. "The preseason is over with. Everybody starts 0-0 right now. And I know that sounds like coach talk, but it's true. It really is. You play all those games to get ready for this season."

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