It took 18 lead changes and eight ties to decide a winner in the first semifinal game of the SEC basketball tournament.

Zakai Zeigler’s 20 points led the Volunteers to the 70-65 victory over the Tigers, advancing to the championship game.

Tennessee will meet the winner of No. 2 seed Florida and No. 3 Alabama in the championship Sunday at noon on Sunday.

Here’s how the Volunteers completed the upset over the Tigers:

First half game of runs

Tennessee came out the gate on a scoring surge led by back-to-back 3-pointers from Chaz Lanier. The Volunteers took an early seven-point lead behind 21 combined first half points from Lanier and Zeigler.

Auburn conducted a 10-0 run scoring nine points off six Volunteer turnovers in the first half. Johni Broome had a game-high 12 points at the break. However, he missed four free throws as Auburn led by a point at the half.

Defensive showdown for the ages

After matching baskets in the first three minutes of the game, both defenses settled in making difficult to get clean looks on offense.

Both teams had a combined six made 3-pointers in the first half shooting under 25% from beyond the arc to start.

In the second half, Auburn held the Volunteers to a 42.6% shooting percentage and two made 3-pointers. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Lanier was held to just two points in the second half.

Jordan Gainey came alive scoring 13 of his 15 total points in the second half for the Volunteers.

Tennessee won the battle down low outrebounding the Tigers 33-28. But Auburn’s frontcourt held the Tennessee Bigs to a combined 17 points and 26 total points in the paint.

Broome was presented with double teams every time he touched the ball and managed to shoot 6-of-7 from the floor at the break. Broome finished his day with 23 points leading all scores in the game.

Tennessee advances to SEC tournament championship

Auburn was a win an away from back-to-back SEC tournament championship appearances.

After Tennessee led by 12 with 6:05 left in the game, Auburn stormed all the way back from a 10-0 run cutting its deficit to one point.

Behind another strong showing from Broome, Denver Jones and Miles Kelly combined for 23 points and six fouls while guarding Zeigler.

Chad Baker-Mazara was back in the starting lineup for the Tigers finishing with nine points. As a team, the Tigers shot 42% from the floor.

Up next for Auburn, they await their NCAA Tournament fate of where they’ll be seeded and their region on Selection Sunday.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].