NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Top-seeded Auburn displayed an unfaltering effort in its 70-65 loss to No. 4 seed Tennessee, as the Tigers’ late comeback effort fell short against the Volunteers.
“Our guys are great competitors. I'm very, very proud of 'em,” said Auburn head coach Bruve Pearl. “I believe that this team has from start to finish done enough to be the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament. Our résumé is historically one of the strongest résumés in the history of college basketball with the number of quad one wins we've had. Certainly losing to Tennessee as a team ranked fifth or sixth in the country is not necessarily shouldn't knock us off that spot.”
Fans anticipated a defensive battle in the SEC Tournament semifinals, with the two teams previously engaging in a low-scoring regular-season matchup that Auburn won 53-51. The first half, however, was anything but that.
Both offenses came out firing, with neither team missing a field goal until the 16:37 mark of the first half. Tennessee struck first as Chaz Lanier drained a 3-pointer on the opening possession, but Denver Jones quickly answered with one of his own. The Vols and Tigers traded baskets early before Tennessee pulled ahead with a 19-9 run, taking a 26-19 lead with 7:52 remaining in the first half.
Auburn responded with a 10-0 run capped off by a Dylan Cardwell that gave the Tigers a 29-26 lead. The Vols and Tigers went back and forth for the rest of the half, and Auburn led 33-32 at the buzzer.
The Tigers shot 13-for-28 (46.4%) from the field and 3-for-11 from beyond-the-arc in the first half, while Tennessee went 11-for-25 (44%) from the field and 3-for-12 from deep.
By the 12:39 mark of the first half, the two teams had already knocked down six 3-pointers—nearly matching the seven they combined for in their previous meeting. But after a hot 7-for-12 start from beyond the arc, both squads went cold, finishing just 4-for-28 from deep the rest of the way.
Auburn built a five point lead at the 16:43 mark of the second half, but Tennessee answered with a 9-2 run ended by a Miles Kelly 3-pointer to put the Tigers back in the lead, 46-45. Tennessee then capitalized on a nearly five-minute Auburn scoring drought, surging ahead with a 24-8 run to build a 12-point lead with seven minutes remaining. During a 13-1 stretch by the Vols, the Tigers struggled to find a response, shooting just 1-for-7 from the field and failing to score a field goal for nearly five minutes.
Trailing by 12 with 6:05 to play, Auburn mounted a quick response with a 10-0 run in just over a minute. Chad Baker-Mazara and Kelly knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, while Broome added five points to cut the deficit to four with 3:24 remaining. However, the late push wasn’t enough as Tennessee held on to secure the win.
“Basketball is a game of runs. They made their run and our run came, but ultimately, they just made more plays down the stretch,” Kelly said. “They had free throws. We didn’t. And we didn’t get the stops we needed down the stretch. That’s why we lost.”
The matchup between the Tigers and Volunteers was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 18 lead changes and eight ties. Tennessee capitalized at the free-throw line, making 25 of 27 attempts, while Auburn went 13-of-22. The Volunteers also held the edge in bench production, outscoring the Tigers' reserves 25-3. Auburn’s bench has averaged 13 points per game over its last four contests.
“We have to do a better job defensively,” Pearl said. “The last time we played them, they scored 51 points. Tonight they scored 70. In particular, we fouled them too much. That's not a comment about the officiating. The officiating was fine. They scored 37% of their points at the foul line. That's on us.”
Broome led Auburn with 23 points and seven rebounds, followed by Kelly with 13 points. Overall, the Tigers shot 41.8% from the field and 28.6% from deep.
Up next, the Tigers will learn their NCAA Tournament destination during the Selection Show on Sunday, March 16, at 5 p.m. CST on CBS.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
