No. 17 Tennessee-No. 3 Auburn Preview, Prediction: Vols Looking to Add Second Top-Five Win
The No. 17 Tennessee Vols basketball team (20-7, 11-4 SEC) will face off against No. 3 Auburn (25-3, 13-2 SEC) in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, February 26, at 4 p.m. ET.
The Vols come in having won nine of their last ten SEC games, most recently defeating Mizzou by 19 points. Tennessee achieved their first Top-5 win of the season last week against Kentucky, when the Vols topped the (then) No. 4 Wildcats 76-63. The win over Kentucky marked Tennessee's 14th win in Knoxville, bringing their record to a perfect 14-0 record when playing in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee's win over Kentucky avenged their 28-point loss in Rupp Arena in mid-January. Since the loss in Lexington, Tennessee's only SEC loss is to Arkansas on the road.
Auburn, who was once ranked No. 1 in the nation, comes into Knoxville on a 3-2 stretch in their last five games, having lost to Arkansas and Florida on the road.
On paper, this is Tennessee's toughest matchup of the season, and deservedly so for Auburn, as the Tigers' dominant duo of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler have been two of the SEC's best players this season.
"It is a great combination to have when you think about the length and skill level they bring," Tennessee's head coach Rick Barnes said of the two Tigers. "The fact is that they both really understand what they need to do to be successful together. They both affect the game in different ways. Certainly, you can talk about Walker's shot-blocking ability but offensively he does a lot of things. Jabari is another guy whose versatility creates problems. When you have two guys like that it makes for a good team."
Kessler, a 7'1" sophomore forward, is averaging an SEC best 4.7 blocks per game and shooting 64.4 percent, also a league best.
As for Jabari Smith, the 6'10" freshman forward is towards the top of many 2022 NBA Draft boards. Smith is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, 2.6 points higher than the Vols leading scorer in terms of PPG (Kennedy Chandler).
To combat Smith and Kessler, Tennessee must turn to post players Uros Plasvic, the freshman duo of Jonas Aidoo and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and John Fulkerson.
That is, if John Fulkerson can go, as Rick Barnes said the sixth-year senior has not practiced this week, but they are optimistic he'll be able to go.
"Yeah, we hope so," Barnes said of Fulkerson's availability. "He has not been able to practice very much, but we hope we can get him right."
Aidoo logged three blocks against Mizzou and three against Kentucky, as the freshman has been a great rim protector for the Vols since playing more minutes after Olivier Nkamhoua's season-ending ankle surgery.
"I think that Jonas has been doing a great job," Vols guard Santiago Vescovi said on Monday. "I think that he is the rim protector we have been needing since Yves (Pons) left. Everybody knew that Yves would go up and block every shot that he could. We were kind of missing that part since he left, and then with Jonas stepping up, I think it helped us a lot in that regard. He can also play on the offensive end, he has a very good touch around the rim, and he can shoot some jumpers from the free throw line. I really like the way that he has responded to him being thrown in and playing all these minutes. I think that he has a super positive impact on the team."
But the Vols cannot solely rely on Aidoo to contain Smith and Kessler, as Barnes said all of Tennessee's posts must step up on Saturday.
"I don't know to put pressure on just one guy either because I think there are a lot of different ways you can go about it," Barnes said. "We need all of our post guys. We need Uros. We need John Fulkerson. We're going to need Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield), we're going to need Jonas (Aidoo), we're going to need them all. Obviously, Josiah (James) goes down there some when we size down, but Walker Kessler is having just a fabulous year. When you think about how he as impacted so many different games on the defensive end. Whether Uros is matched with him, I think all those guys' minutes are critical."
Currently, Tennessee is tied with Arkansas, and the Razorbacks face No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday. If Tennessee achieves another impressive win at home and the Hogs lose to the Wildcats in Fayetteville, the Vols would improve to 12-4 in the SEC and take sole possession of third place in the conference.
Below are additional series notes between Tennessee-Auburn, how to watch the game, and a prediction:
Series Notes (Information via Tennessee Athletics Communications)
-Tennessee leads its all-time series with Auburn, 78-44, dating to 1927.
-The Vols own a 48-9 advantage when the series is contested in Knoxville. Tennessee triumphed in 10 straight home games over Auburn from 2000-16, but the Tigers have won each of the last two clashes at Thompson-Boling Arena.
-Over the last two games in this series that took place in Knoxville, Auburn averaged 89.5 points and 11.5 made 3-pointers.
-Saturday marks the only regular-season meeting between the Vols and Tigers.
-Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl coached the Tennessee program from 2006-11. His son and current Auburn assistant coach, Steven Pearl, lettered for the Vols from 2007-11 and is a UT graduate.
-ESPN's BPI ranks Tennessee's strength of schedule as the fourth-toughest nationally.
Last Meeting Between the Vols and Tigers
-Tennessee lost the battle on the boards as the 25th-ranked Volunteers suffered a 77-72 setback at Auburn Arena on Feb. 27, 2021.
-Tennessee was out-rebounded by Auburn 38-31 overall and gave up 16 offensive boards to the Tigers.
-First-round NBA Draft pick Keon Johnson led UT in scoring with 23 points on a 9-of-17 mark from the field.
-Fellow NBA Draftee Jaden Springer added 20 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
-Senior Yves Pons chipped in with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
-The story of the first half was told on the offensive glass, as Auburn racked up 11 offensive boards and took a slim, 34-30 advantage into the halftime break.
-Auburn maintained control of proceedings through the duration of the second half, never relinquishing its lead and holding off each Tennessee counter punch to close the afternoon.
How to Watch
-ESPN and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN.
-WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analysis) and Kris Budden (reporter) will have the call.
How to Listen
-Local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp calling the action. The broadcast is also available on channel 81 on Sirius, SiriusXM and the SiriusXM app.
Predictions
Jack
Earlier in the week, I was hesitant to take Tennessee because of how much more consistent Auburn has been this season.
But the Vols at home are just a different animal, and they find a way backed by that Knoxville crowd. I picked Kentucky and cannot pick against the Vols in Knoxville again after seeing what the TBA crowd can do.
A closer game than Tennessee vs. Kentucky, the Vols edge the Tigers as Rick Barnes gets his first win over former Volunteer head coach Bruce Pearl in five years.
Tennessee 70, Auburn 66
Jake
Tennessee 78, Auburn 84
Riley
Tennessee 71, Auburn 67
**Riley predicts the game goes to overtime**
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Tennessee and Auburn will tip-off at 4 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday as the Vols look to record their biggest win of the season.
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