No. 8 Tennessee and No. 3 Auburn put on a show in the first of two SEC Tournament semifinal games on Saturday.
With clutch free-throw shooting and excellent guard play, the Volunteers held off a late rally from the Tigers, 70-65, to advance to Sunday’s SEC championship game.
In the only prior meeting of the season between the two teams, Tennessee fell in a 53-51 defensive slugfest on Jan. 25. The outcome on Saturday could not have gone any better for the Volunteers.
With the win over Auburn, Tennessee now owns victories over Auburn, Florida and Alabama, who are all projected to be a one or two-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
“Both teams played their hearts out,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said after the game. “It was a high-level, hard-fought game both ways. We made a run early. I don’t think in anybody’s mind they were going to make a run to get back. They’re an excellent team at pressuring to get the ball in late-game situations.”
Although it took eight fewer shots and struggled from long range (5-of-19), Tennessee made Auburn pay for its 21 committed fouls. While Auburn was held to 13-of-22 from the foul line, Tennessee was 25-of-27, which proved extremely valuable.
Tennessee’s guard play was also on full display. Senior Zakai Zeigler (20 points, 5-of-11 FG) was a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe and dished out four assists.
The ball movement was superb on this drive, with Zeigler finding senior Chaz Lanier in the corner before sophomore Cade Phillips finished the possession under the basket.
This confident jumper from the top of the key was the only made three of the game for Zeigler. However, it gave Tennessee a commanding 60-49 lead with just over seven minutes to play.
Tennessee’s defense held Auburn to 41.8% shooting and a brutal 6-of-21 from deep. Other than National Player of the Year contender Johni Broome (23 points, 9-of-13 FG), no one else had more than 13.
Auburn (28-5, 15-3 SEC) may have won the SEC regular-season title, but three losses in its last four games are not ideal heading into the NCAA Tournament. That said, two of those three losses were to top 10 opponents. The Tigers may be leaving Nashville early, but there is still a lot to like about one of the top National Championship contenders in the country.
Tennessee (27-6, 12-6 SEC) — winner of three straight — heads into the SEC Championship game against the winner of Florida-Alabama. With an eight-rebound advantage (35-27) on Saturday and the ability to consistently knock down free throws, the Volunteers did all the right things well against the Tigers, which is a must this time of year.
Some late turnovers were an issue, but Tennessee seems to be getting hot at the right time, which is all you can ask for in March.
