Tennessee basketball score vs. Auburn: Live updates for Vols-Tigers

Tennessee basketball is back at Thompson-Boling Arena, where it has won two straight games.

The No. 2 Vols (18-4, 7-2 SEC) host No. 23 Auburn (17-5, 7-2) on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN). The two teams are tied for second place in the conference standings, and the losing team will fall three games behind Alabama.

MATCHUP: Tennessee basketball vs Auburn: Score prediction, scouting report

Tennessee lost 67-54 at Florida on Wednesday, dropping its first game in February. Auburn snapped a two-game losing streak Wednesday with a big win at home over Georgia.

"(Auburn coach Bruce Pearl) has done what he has always does, a terrific job with this team," Vols coach Rick Barnes said Friday. "He is going to get the most out of them every year."

What time, channel is Tennessee basketball game on?

Tennessee plays Auburn at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Tennessee basketball score vs. Auburn: Live updates

Second half

FINAL: Tennessee survives, 46-43. Nkamhoua has an iffy closeout on a Wendell Green Jr. 3-pointer, but no call.

Vols now in second place in the SEC again. What a grind.

23.3 seconds left: Santiago Vescovi turns it over as Tennessee tries to bring it up. That probably stands upon review. Tigers were physical with Vescovi on that TO, but that's par for the course in this game.

30.9 seconds left: Green hits a quick 3 to cut Tennessee's lead to 44-41.

1:04 left: Great defensive possession for Tennessee. Wendell Green Jr., listed under 6-feet, can't do anything against Josiah-Jordan James. He gets switched off to Nkamhoua, then throws the ball away. Couldn't deal with the lenght.

Santiago Vescovi's 4-point play gives Vols some cushion

2:33 left: Play of the game. Santiago Vescovi hits a 3-pointer in KD Johnson's face and is fouled in the process.

Free throw good. 4-point play. Vols lead 44-38.

2:49 left: Auburn's Jaylin Williams hits two free throws, and Tennessee's lead is 40-38.

Josiah-Jordan James up to 15 points and 12 rebounds today.

3:25 left: Jonas Aidoo misses a seemingly easy layup off a nice post move, and it'll be Vols ball after the rebound goes out. What a frustrating game to watch for Tennessee fans, Auburn fans and neutral observers.

Tennessee 40, Auburn 36.

Vols up to 14 offensive rebounds and lead second-chance points 10-0.

4:28 left: KD Johnson the only offense for Auburn. He's either getting to the line or getting a decent look at the basket.

Tennessee has had so many open looks clank off the rim today. Recently, Nkamhoua missed a turnaround, while James missed an open left-elbow 3. Vols lead 40-36.

7:04 left: Auburn now conceding offensive possessions with long and bad shots. Vols have done a great job on Johni Broome in the post, and the Tigers can't get clean looks near the rim anyway.

9:07 left: Nkamhoua with an offensive rebound and putback. Vols up 36-28, on an 8-0 run.

10:42 left: Back-to-back made shots for Tennessee, one by Josiah-Jordan James and the other by Santiago Vescovi. That's a full-fledged run in this game.

Defense good, offense bad

11:58 left: Trying to be nice here. Tennessee leads 30-28.

Vols 1-of-13 from 3, 12-of-44 overall. Auburn is 8-of-39 overall, 2-of-19 from 3. Neither team has a player in double figures.

The good news? If you have the under, congratulations. Invest in something smart.

14:17 left: Zakai Zeigler misses a runner, and he's 0-of-7 today.

14:41 left: Tennessee is having another good offensive rebounding game, with 9 today.

15:34 left: Johni Broome's layup is Auburn's first made shot in about 10 minutes and its second made shot since the 15:41 mark of the first half.

First half

HALFTIME: Tennessee 23, Auburn 19.

Tigers missed 18 of their last 19 shots in the half. At 29.4%, the Vols have the better offensive output after 20 minutes.

1:43 left: Auburn not getting anything easy on the offensive end either. It feels like if either team can score 30 points in the second half, that team will win.

Tennessee leads 23-18.

5:45 left: Wendell Green Jr.'s 3-pointer is Auburn's first made basketball in 10 game minutes.

9:17 left: Plavsic gives Vols the 13-12 lead with a layup, then is called for a technical foul for some post-basket chirping.

9:51 left: Uros Plavsic and Jaylin Williams called for a double foul on a loose-ball rebound chase. The officials let them wrestle for a while during the UT possession in the post.

10::00 left: A quarter of the way through this one...

Tennessee: 4-19 (21.1% shooting)

Auburn: 5-13 (38.5% shooting)

11:32 left: Auburn went scoreless in between media timeouts. Tennessee scored two points in that time. Neither team able to produce an easy look.

Auburn 10, Tennessee 6. First to 50?

12:38 left: Vols defense tightening, but still struggling to get good looks on the other end.

Vols struggle to hit shots early

14:24 left: Auburn leads 10-4 at the first media timeout. UT at 2-of-11 shooting so far.

Olivier Nkamhoua is 1-for-6 in the first 5+ minutes. While he had a really good performance against Texas, he probably isn't the best No. 1 option for these Vols.

17:04 left: Vols start 0 of 6 from the floor. Auburn leads 4-0.

Pregame: Can Tennessee rebound?

After Wednesday's disappointing loss at Florida, the Vols are back inside TBA to face Bruce Pearl's Auburn Tigers.

Looks like the usual starting lineups for both teams. Getting close to tipoff.

A Twitter List by _NickGray

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball score vs. Auburn: Live updates for Vols-Tigers