NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 1 seed Auburn fell to No. 4 seed Tennessee 70-65 in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday inside of Bridgestone Arena. Take a look inside of a somber locker room as the Tigers exit the SEC Tournament.
Head coach Bruce Pearl:
Opening Statement:
“We have to do a better job defensively. 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.”
When asked if Auburn is panicked after losing three of the last four:
“I'm really glad you asked me that question. We lost to Alabama, Tennessee and at Texas A&M. Yeah, we're panicked. That's a real softball.
“We lost to some great teams. We lost at the buzzer against Alabama. We had possessions here. Yeah, we're panicked. I can hardly wait till next weekend to start playing again. Let's get to Sunday, find out where we're going, find out who we're playing and let's get back to work. I'm looking forward, not back.”
When asked if Auburn is panicked after losing three of the last four:
“Yeah, in a close game, obviously it's important and we've done a great job winning a lot of close games this year, we've been really good at the foul line.
“Johni did a great job inside, just dominating inside, earned those foul shots that he got. Obviously he struggled at the free-throw line.”
Center/Forward Johni Broome:
On Tahaad Pettiford’s performance:
“We have to do a better job defensively. 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.”
Point guard Denver Jones:
On Tennessee’s defense
“Their pressure. Just how they guard. And we kinda already knew that going in. Tennessee is one of the best defensive teams in the country and they disrupted us a little bit but we just have to be better on offense and defense.
On Auburn closing run at the end of the game
“Honestly, just ball movement. Getting the ball down to Johni because Johni for sure had the advantage down there. He had it going we just relied on him to score or the defense if they collapsed to kick it out to the guards.”
Guard Miles Kelly:
On Auburn being unable to capitalize down the stretch
“Basketball is a game of runs. They made their run and our run came, but ultimately, they just made more plays down the stretch. They had free throws. We didn’t. And we didn’t get the stops we needed down the stretch. That’s why we lost.”
On if Auburn deserves the No. 1 overall seed
“I think we did enough in the regular season to deserve the No. 1 seed. We put forth a great resume this season, and I think order to get the No. 1 seed you have to be special. And we were special this year.”
On his message to Tahaad after a rough performance
“You’ve just gotta keep playing the game. Every game is not going to be your game. You’ve just gotta keep playing. He’s a special player. I don’t think this is going to waver his confidence. He’s still going to play the same and take the same shots. It’s just basketball at the end of the day. Just learn from it, watch the film and get better.”
Guard Chad Baker-Mazara:
On what was working for Auburn during its 10-0 run
“We said to ourselves, ‘We’ve gotta get a couple stops to get back in the game.’ They had a little run and we just had to make sure that we stopped that. And then we had our little run. But in the end they still came out with a win.”
Auburn power forward Chaney Johnson attempts a 3-pointer against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinal in Nashville, TN on March 15, 2025.
Power forward Chaney Johnson:
On the biggest takeaways heading into March Madness
“Obviously, no more games are promised after this one. So, we’ve got to put our heads down and play hard. That’s all we can do. I feel like Tennessee, they played harder than us today.”
On the team’s lack of effort
“It’s basketball. We always try to win. I feel like there’s always going to be a game where a team is going to play harder than the other. I feel like we played hard, but I feel like we just got outplayed.”
On the lack of bench production
“We’ve just got to be ourselves. I don’t feel like I was myself today. I don’t feel like other players on the bench were themselves today. Give Tennessee credit. They played great defense. They’re well coached. I feel like we really just couldn’t get in a groove offensively."
Center Dylan Cardwell:
On mindset going into March Madness:
“Heightened sense of urgency. My prayers and my thought is moving forward. I hope these three losses that we've had, we gave these games away. No one beat us, we beat ourselves.
“Having a sense of urgency moving forward into the tournament, knowing the next time, God forbid, we lose a game, we're going home. There's no more team meal, there's no more film, there's no more being a team.”
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