No. 6 Tennessee basketball fell just short of toppling the nation’s No. 1 team, Auburn, 53-51, at a sold-out Neville Arena on Saturday night.
Saturday night’s contest between Auburn and Tennessee was the peak of high-stakes collegiate basketball.
The offense was inefficient, and the game wasn’t always entertaining to watch, but it was physical and rigorous and generated an environment that only this sport appears to be capable of creating.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas declared, “It has been the most physical game I’ve seen all year.”
The Volunteers’ 46-game winning record when leading with 2:00 left in regulation was snapped Saturday night, as was their 44-game winning streak while allowing less than 60 points.
After trailing 51-49, Auburn regained the lead with 33 seconds remaining following a wild sequence. Broome cut to the basket and was stopped, but he retrieved his shot, stayed inbounds, and kicked out to Miles Kelly, who nailed a go-ahead corner three.
Although the match did not go their way, head coach Rick Barnes believes his team performed well. “But I’m just proud of every guy. I just thought that we came in and battled the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Took it down to the last possession with a chance to win it.”
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler paced the Volunteers with 14 points and five assists.
Winning a defensive battle against a Barnes team is a major challenge, even with home-court advantage as favorable as Auburn’s. This game is the Tigers’ seventh-ranked win of the season, setting a program record.
Takeaway #1: Both teams struggled to put the ball in the hoop
In the first half, neither Auburn nor Tennessee shot above 28% from the field, and the two teams combined to go 1-for-21 from three. They also missed 40 of their first 49 shots.
Baskets felt like a blessing for both sides, as every point Auburn made elicited wild cheers from the Neville Arena audience.
Good defense was expected. Tennessee entered the game with the third-highest defensive rating in the country, according to KenPom, and Auburn ranked in the top 20 in college basketball. However, given both teams’ offensive talent on their respective rosters, a slugfest of such size seems unlikely.
Neither team could pull away as both defenses swarmed. Auburn had the highest lead of the second half at five points, but the Vols tied the game 45-45 a minute later.
Both teams finished the game shooting less than 32% from the floor and less than 20% from beyond the arc.
Takeaway #2: Johni Broome returned and made an immediate impact
There was no bigger storyline heading into Saturday’s game than whether Auburn standout center Johni Broome would return to face Tennessee.
The return of All-American center Johni Broome made the difference. Although his mobility indicated that he wasn’t at full speed – after missing two full games with an ankle ailment
He did not start, but checked in for the first time at 17:20 in the first half, triggering massive cheers from the Neville Arena audience. Broome scored nine of the team’s 22 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite not starting, Broome played 32 minutes and recorded 16 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.
Takeaway #3: Tennessee kept the game close despite shots not falling.
The Volunteers have continued to improve with each loss in SEC play.
Tennessee’s offense delivered the worst performance of the Rick Barnes era in the team’s first big-time road game at Florida, resulting in a record loss for a top-ranked team.
The Vols played much better at Vanderbilt, but foul problems and costly errors ultimately resulted in a heartbreaking loss.
Despite the offense being quite similar to the game in Florida, there was a significant difference against Auburn. The game was extremely competitive because Tennessee played outstanding defense.
Auburn had the nation’s strongest offense going into the matchup, but Tennessee shut it down.
The Tigers ranked in the top 25 in the nation in three-point shooting percentage heading into the matchup. Tennessee ranked #1 in three-point defense. The Vols won that crucial battle, with Auburn hitting only 3-of-20 from deep.
Additionally, the Volunteers did a great job of taking everyone other than Broome out of the game.
Auburn’s second-leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazzara, totaled just seven points on zero-of-five shooting from the field. Tahaad Pettiford, the Tigers’ third-leading scorer, finished with only eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. Starting guards Miles Kelly and Denver Jones struggled collectively, combining for eight points on 2-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Tigers’ 11 turnovers were not excessive, but Tennessee converted those turnovers into 13 points, including a few easy baskets.
Rick Barnes and the Volunteers had a perfect opportunity to steal a win at Neville Arena over the nation’s top-ranked team, but they fell just short in the dying seconds.
Tennessee basketball will return to Knoxville on Tuesday to face No. 9 Kentucky in a vital SEC home game, which will air live on ESPN.
To keep up with Tennessee Volunteers basketball on social media, follow @BleedOrangeRev on X/Twitter.
Next up for Tennessee basketball (17-3, 4-3): vs. No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3) – Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. EST
Next up for Auburn basketball (18-1, 6-0): at LSU (12-7, 1-5) – Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. EST