Auburn Hosts Tennessee on Senior Night

As the regular season comes to a close, the Auburn Tigers welcome the Tennessee Volunteers for an SEC showdown. This will be both the Tigers’ and Volunteers’ final game before the SEC Tournament. 

regular season finale

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 3, 2023

Auburn Honors Seniors

Given that this will be the final home game of the season, Auburn is taking Saturday’s game as a chance to honor their seniors.

The seniors being honored Saturday include Babatunde Akingbola, Chandler Leopard, Lior Berman, Jaylin Williams and Zep Jasper. Williams leads the Tigers in minutes per game with 27.9. 

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Auburn season at a glance

Auburn enters this matchup with a 19-11 record. The Tigers are also looking to end the season over .500 in SEC play as they currently sit at 9-8.

Auburn’s performance this season has been largely dependent on where the game is played. The Tigers have dominated at home, winning 13 out of 15 of their home games. However, they have struggled on the road, posting a record of 4-8. Auburn is 2-1 when playing at a neutral location.

A big part of Auburn’s success this season has been the play of sophomore forward Johni Broome. He leads the Tigers in points (13.9 PPG), rebounds (8.4 RPG) and blocks (2.3 BPG) per game.

Tennessee season at a glance

After a very strong start to the season, the Volunteers have struggled down the stretch. Tennessee started the season 19-3, and were ranked No. 2 in the nation up to that point. Since then, they have lost five of their last nine games. The Volunteers have dropped to No. 12 in the national rankings.

Tennessee has a very balanced attack offensively, as they have four players averaging over ten points per game. Tennessee also has two players putting up over eight points per game. Sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler has been a majoring catalyst of this balanced attack, as he leads Tennessee in assists per game with 5.4. The best three-point shooter for the Volunteers has been senior guard Santiago Vescovi. He leads Tennessee with 70 3-pointers made for the season on 35.2% shooting.

Tennessee got the better of Auburn in their first meeting, winning 46-43 in Tennessee. The rematch is set for Saturday, March 4, at 2 p.m. from Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama