NASHVILLE — Less than two months after Tennessee lost to Auburn in a two-point slugfest, the two teams will meet again for a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
The 4-seed Vols (26-6) ran away from 13-seed Texas in its tournament debut on Friday, while the Tigers (28-4) outlasted Ole Miss to set up the second match up in 47 days after their first clash.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
The formula that Tennessee has used in most of its triumphs this season was used against the Longhorns. Chaz Lanier scored 23 points, Zakai Zeigler dazzled in the second half, Jahmai Mashack locked down Texas’ best scorer and the Vols finished with the edge on the boards and in the paint.
The result was an 83-72 victory that Tennessee mostly felt in control for much of the afternoon.
Auburn, the league’s regular season champion and bound for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended a two-game skid with a 62-57 win over the Rebels behind Johni Broome‘s 23 points.
The Vols match the Tigers blow-for-blow in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 25 at Neville Arena, dragging them into the mud and holding one of the top offenses in college basketball to season lows in scoring with 53 points and 30.5% field goal shooting.
The difference was Miles Kelly‘s go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left. Zeigler missed a game-winning three in the final seconds of a 53-51 defeat.
The second match up, which would send the winner to their second SEC Tournament finale in the last three years, is set up for must-see TV, matching up the two best defenses in the conference.
It will also feature the league’s Player of the Year in Broome, the Defensive Player of the Year in Zeigler, All-Defensive Team member Mashack and Newcomer of the Year in Lanier.
Who: 4-seed Tennessee (26-6) vs. 1-seed Auburn (28-4)
When: Saturday, March 15 | 1 p.m. ET
Where: Bridgestone Arena | Nashville
TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, play-by-play; Jay Bilas, analyst; Jess Sims, reporter)
Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Bert Bertelkamp, analyst)
Series: 128th meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 81-46)
KenPom Projection: Auburn 72, Tennessee 69
POINTS PER GAME
Auburn 85.2
Tennessee 74.5
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Auburn 48.5%
Tennessee 45.4%
THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE
Auburn 37.2%
Tennessee 34.6%
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee gearing up for another big-time showdown with Auburn
ASSISTS
Auburn 16.7
Tennessee 15.9
REBOUNDS
Auburn 37.4
Tennessee 37.2
BLOCKS
Auburn 6.4
Tennessee 5.1
— Both Tennessee and Auburn rank top 15 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, with the Vols ranking third and Tigers 12th at 88.3 and 93.2 points allowed per opponents’ 100 possessions, respectively.
— Auburn features one of the best offenses in the country, ranking first in adjusted offensive efficiency and averaging 85.2 points per game. SEC Player of the Year and 6-foot-10 forward Johni Broome averages 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Inside Tennessee’s second-half run to put away Texas in SEC Tournament
— Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler made history in the Vols’ win over Texas. He dished his 228th assist of his senior season to pass former player Rodney Woods for the most assists in a single season in program history.
— Tennessee has reached the SEC Tournament semifinals four times under Rick Barnes and has advanced to the tournament championship game in three of those trips. The Vols beat Kentucky, 69-62 at Amalie Arena in Tampa in 2022 before thumping Texas A&M, 65-50 for their first tournament crown in 43 years.
