Tennessee Basketball will match up against Auburn on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the SEC Tournament. The 5-seed Volunteers will take on the 12-seed Tigers at 3:00 p.m. ET from Bridgestone Arena. The winner of Thursday’s contest will square off against 4-seed Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon.
This will be the second matchup between Auburn and Tennessee this season, with the Volunteers previously taking a 77-69 win over the Tigers back on Jan. 31 in Knoxville. Tennessee freshman Nate Ament scored 22 points in the win, while Auburn guard Keyshawn Hall went for 21 points in the loss.
Tennessee is currently a point favorite over the Tigers leading into the game.
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Auburn is the definition of a bubble team. The Tigers entered the tournament as Joe Lunardi’s first team out of the 68-team field, and Auburn will be looking for a statement win over the Vols to sneak into the NCAA Tournament later in the month. Without a win over Tennessee, the Tigers’ spot in the dance could still be in doubt.
“Well, one, we have a lot of respect for Auburn,” head coach Rick Barnes said after Tennessee beat Auburn in January. “We watch them, and we told our team how good a team they were. They’ve been as hot as any team in the country. They’re going to win a lot of games. And we knew we had to be ready to play, and we came out, and I thought we were locked in, I do. I think we were really locked in, but we also know how explosive they can be. But I’d say the same thing. They came out and punked us the first four minutes of the second half.”
After the Tigers’ win over Mississippi State on Wednesday, Auburn head coach Steven Pearl joined the SEC Now postgame set. Pearl pleaded with the Tigers’ fanbase to make their way to Bridgestone Arena for Thursday’s game against Tennessee.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. Get in your cars, do what you’ve got to do, and just get here,” Pearl said to the Auburn fanbase through the SEC Now broadcast. “Our guys, obviously, play for the Auburn family. They recognize how special it is, how supported they are. Obviously, tomorrow’s got a lot at stake. Any Auburn fans we can get in this building, we’ll need ’em. We need ’em.”
Vanderbilt, the 4-seed in the SEC Tournament, will be awaiting the winner of the Tennessee-Auburn matchup on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals from Knoxville.
Tennessee is currently a 5-seed in Joe Lunardi’s March Madness projections.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage for Tennessee’s matchup against Auburn on Thursday afternoon. The 5-seed Vols will take on the 12-seed Tigers with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line at 3:00 p.m. ET from Bridgestone Arena.
More to follow: College Basketball Betting Sites
