SEC powerhouses will square off Saturday afternoon as the No. 25 Auburn Tigers (17-5, 7-2) take on the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers (18-4, 7-2). The Volunteers will host this one at the Thompson-Boling Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 pm ET.
Auburn comes into this one off of a 94-73 home win over Georgia. In the victory, Allen Flanigan had a game-high with 22 points, but it was Johni Broome who really had an outstanding game. The forward had a double-double with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
For Tennessee, their No. 2 ranking may not hold for long as they were upset by unranked Florida 67-54 on the road Wednesday. Zakai Zeigler led the team with 15 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Volunteers to pick up the win.
Tennessee is the heavy favorite in this one playing at home. They are -500 to win, while the Tigers’ moneyline sits at +375. The spread features Auburn as 9.5-point underdogs, and the over/under for total points is 134.5.
Tigers Look For Road Upset
At 7-2 in the conference, Auburn is tied with both Tennessee and Texas A&M. With just nine games left in the regular season, the Tigers will hope to upset the Volunteers as road underdogs.
Offensively, Auburn ranks 104th in the country, averaging 73.4 points per game. They are led by junior guard Wendell Green Jr. This season, he is averaging 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.
Other major contributors for the Tigers include Johni Broome (13.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.5 blocks), Jaylin Williams (10.8 points, 5.1 rebounds), and Allen Flanigan (9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds).
On the defensive side, Auburn ranks 38th overall, allowing opponents an average of just 64.6 points per game (66.7 on the road).
Volunteers Look To Bounce Back
Tennessee got hit with a reality check in their last game as they were toppled by the unranked Florida Gators. Trying to avoid reeling from that loss any further, the Volunteers will look to bounce back with a home win Saturday. To date, they are 10-1 when playing at home.
The Volunteers are the most dangerous team in the country on the defensive side. They rank first in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 55.1 points per game. At home, that number sits at just 51.1 points.
Tennessee’s offense is not quite as impressive, but they still rank ahead of Auburn in scoring at 102nd, averaging 73.4 points per game.
Senior guard Santiago Vescovi leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Zakai Zeigler (11.4 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.2 steals), Olivier Nkamhoua (11 points, 5.3 rebounds), Josiah-Jordan James (9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds), and Julian Phillips (9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds) have also been major contributors this year.
Take Auburn And The Points
Looking at the trends, Auburn is 15-5 in their last 20 games and 6-1 in their last seven against the Volunteers. In their last five games, they are 4-1 against the spread.
For Tennessee, they are 17-3 in their last 20 and 19-1 in their last 20 home games. Against SEC opponents, they are 8-4 against the spread in their last 12.
It will be really interesting to see how the Volunteers respond in this one after losing their last game. Especially playing at home, it is hard to bet against Tennessee straight up, but the spread is a bit more interesting.
Both of these teams are solid defensively (Tennessee is obviously a little better), and both have decent but not great offenses.
With similar styles, this one could remain close throughout. For that reason, take Auburn and the points Saturday.
Take Auburn +9.5 (-110).
