NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The top-seeded Auburn Tigers fell to the fourth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers 70-65 Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinal. The loss is Auburn’s third in its last four games.
The game was a back-and-forth battle from the opening tip. Both teams traded blows, scoring nearly every trip down the floor until the first media timeout.
“I feel like both teams came out excited to play,” Tigers guard Denver Jones said. After that start however, it was much more of what was expected coming in: a slow-paced slugfest. Speaking to that change of pace, Jones added, “I feel like fatigues was probably a factor, just because both teams were guarding so hard.”
Auburn led by one going into the half behind 12 points from Johni Broome and seven points from Denver Jones. Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier each had double figures at the break.
The game slowed to a snail’s pace in the second half. The Volunteers found themselves in the bonus with over 13 minutes to play. Broome continued his stellar play from the first, but struggled at the free throw line, going just 5-12 on the afternoon. Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara came up with some big shots for the Tigers, but Tennessee’s bench, most notably Jordan Gainey, answered for the Vols.
In a game that featured 18 lead changes, it was the little things that made a difference. Tennessee got to the free throw line 27 times and hit 25. Auburn shot just 13-22 from the stripe. The Vols outrebounded the Tigers by eight. With the game being tight in nearly every other statistical category, free throws and rebounding stand out as the driver behind Tennessee’s win.
Freshman Auburn point guard Tahaad Pettiford had his weakest performance of the season, shooting 0-8 from the field and 0-5 from three. In his minutes on the floor, Tennessee outscored Auburn by 20.
“I didn’t show up today,” Pettiford said. “[I’m] just trying to get back in the gym and do whatever I have to do to help the team win.”
When asked what makes Tennessee’s defense so difficult, Pettiford added, “They’re just really aggressive on ball… It’s really hard for the guards to try to get loose and get open.”
When asked about Head Coach Bruce Pearl’s message to the team following the loss, Pettiford said, “We didn’t show up. We beat ourselves… a lot of things we could have fixed.”
Auburn will await their NCAA Tournament seeding Sunday afternoon. Today’s game was Auburn’s 21st against a quad one opponent, by far the most in the country. They feel their schedule has prepared them well for March.
“It is really good, because, like, we’re going into the tournament knowing what we’re going to see,” Tigers wing Chad Baker-Mazara said. “Now it’s time to really put our heads down and just lock in.”
Denver Jones added, “I feel like it’s given us a lot of experience as far as playing teams of that caliber… playing teams like that now is going to prepare us for that run we’re going to make.”
The NCAA Tournament selection show is at 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Auburn is likely to be the number one overall seed. The Tournament begins Thursday, March 20.
