Auburn basketball vs. Tennessee: Our scouting report, score prediction
AUBURN — For the final time this season, Auburn basketball will play at Neville Arena.
And it's a big one.
The Tigers, who are on the heels of a crushing overtime loss to Alabama on Wednesday, host Tennessee on Saturday (1 p.m. CT, ESPN). Auburn (19-11, 9-8 SEC) has lost eight of its last 11 games, but all but two of those losses have come by single digits; with the final margin in five of them being five or fewer points.
Those tight margins, as well as the Tigers handling business against lower-tier teams, have kept Auburn's hopes of a March Madness invite alive. Despite losing to the Crimson Tide in Coleman Coliseum, the Tigers stayed put at No. 37 in the NET rankings and No. 29 in KenPom.
A win against the Vols (22-8, 11-6) would almost surely cement Auburn for the NCAA Tournament. Here's our scouting report for the matchup, and our score prediction.
GETTING READY:Can Auburn basketball get over Alabama loss and beat Tennessee to get into March Madness?
PREVIOUS GAME:Auburn basketball fights, but comes up short in OT rivalry loss to Alabama
FOOTBALL:Offensive line groupings and other observations from Auburn football's first spring practice
What happened last time?
This isn't the first time Auburn has gone up against Tennessee this season. In a Feb. 4 meeting, the Tigers, as has become all too familiar down the stretch, fell 46-43 in devastating fashion. The game came down to a potential game-tying 3-pointer from Wendell Green Jr. at the buzzer. There was contact between Green and Tennessee forward Olivier Nkamhoua, who was closing out, but no foul was called.
Leading up to that was nearly 40 minutes of impeccable defense from both sides. The teams shot a combined 25.4% and made five of their 48 attempts from 3-point range. Tennessee's Josiah-Jordan James had a game-high 15 points and only two Tigers − Johni Broome (11) and K.D. Johnson (10) − scored in double figures.
No Zakai Zeigler
The Vols will be without the services of one of the SEC's best guards.
Zakai Zeigler, who averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists in 30 appearances this season, tore his ACL in Tennessee's 75-57 win over Arkansas on Tuesday. Zeigler is one of the best perimeter defenders in the country and has proven to be a key catalyst for the success the Vols have enjoyed.
The 5-foot-9 Zeigler didn't make a single shot against Auburn in the first meeting, but without him on the floor, Tennessee could have issues containing Green again, or even Johnson, who dropped 21 in the Alabama heartbreaker.
Tennessee lately
After topping Auburn, the Vols began to slide. They lost their next two games against Vanderbilt and Missouri via buzzer-beating shots before toppling then-No. 1 Alabama at home. Following the big win over the Crimson Tide, Tennessee again lost two straight to take it out of contention for the SEC regular-season title.
The Vols have since gotten back on track, handling South Carolina by 40 points on Feb. 25 and beating Arkansas. But those wins were at home. Three out of Tennessee's last four losses have come on the road, and the Vols are now tasked with going into what is expected to be a rowdy Neville Arena.
Score prediction
Auburn 72, Tennessee 68: Not quite the defensive battle that happened the last time, but another back-and-forth contest that goes the distance. The Tigers hang on in the end to finally earn the big win they've been searching for and all but secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball vs. Tennessee: Our scouting report, score prediction
