The Official #8 Tennessee vs. #3 Auburn Game Thread, 1:00 PM ET, ESPN

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

Let's Geaux Peay
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#1
SEC TOURNAMENT - SEMIRFINALS

#8 [4] Tennessee Volunteers: 26-6 (12-6 SEC)
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vs.

#3 [1] Auburn Tigers: 28-4 (15-3 SEC)
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GAME 33 | TENNESSEE vs. AUBURN - Saturday, March 15, 2025 | 1 p.m. ET | Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena (18,500)

Line: UT +4.5
O/U: 140.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM: 106 &190 / Internet: ---
Online: WatchESPN app

Auburn Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP

• In the regular season game, UT led by four with under 2:00 left on the road, but Auburn closed on a 6-0 run in the last 1:46 to win by two.
• Tennessee is 3-2 in its last five contests versus Auburn after dropping six in a row before that.
• This is the sixth time in the last 10 meetings both sides are ranked, with the Vols 3-2 in the prior five. Before 3/17/19, both were ranked in just two of the first 85 clashes of the AP Poll era, each taking one.
• This is also the 12th straight series matchup with at least one team ranked. Before 1/2/18, only 27 of the first 83 AP Poll era contests featured a ranked team.
• Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl led UT for six seasons, 2005-11, going 145-61 with three Sweet 16s, including an Elite Eight, and one SEC regular season crown.
• The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for eight weeks this year, claimed the SEC outright title.
• SEC Player of the Year Johni Broome, a senior forward/center, leads Auburn with 18.7 ppg, an SEC-high 10.7 rpg and an SEC-best 2.4 bpg.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES

• Auburn associate head coach Steven Pearl played for his father at UT from 2007-11, while assistant coach Ira Bowman competed for Rick Barnes at Providence for two seasons (1991-93).
• This will be Tennessee's 17th game versus Bruce Pearl. The only active coaches it has faced more are John Calipari (39), Rick Pitino (22) and Frank Martin (18).
• The Vols are 75-58 (.564) in SEC Tournament play, with five titles. They are 12-7 (.632), with one crown, in Rick Barnes' tenure.
• Tennessee is seeking its fourth SEC Tournament final berth in the last seven events. It won the crown in 2022 after dropping the title game in 2018 and 2019.
• During its active 78-week streak in the AP Poll, dating to the 2021-22 preseason release, Tennessee has played just 15 of its 139 games as a lower-ranked team, posting an 9-6 record. That includes an 8-4 mark since 1/22/22 and a 6-2 tally versus SEC foes.
• This is UT's sixth AP top-eight clash versus an SEC team this season. It had seven prior all-time.
• All four SEC semifinalists are ranked in the top eight. Tennessee posted a 2-2 record against the other four in the regular season.
• With 832 victories, Rick Barnes is No. 10 all-time (min. 10 years in DI) and one shy of John Calipari.
• Zakai Zeigler owns Tennessee's single-season assist record with 230, one away from entering the SEC top 10. His 702 career assists are 13 shy of the UT record, while his his UT-best 241 steals are four away from a top-10 spot on the SEC's all-time list. More on Page 11.
• Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler are 105-34 (.755) at UT, good for the most wins ever by a four-year Vol. The record was a 104-38 (.732) tally by Wayne Chism and Quinn Cannington from 2006-10.
• UT now has 26 wins for the eighth time. Five are under Rick Barnes.
• Tennessee's 197 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank co-No. 10, alongside Drake, in DI. Only Gonzaga (238), Houston (237), Duke (215), Kansas (212), Purdue (204), Saint Mary's (199), Auburn (198), Liberty (198), San Diego State (198) own more.
 
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#4
#4
ALL-SEC ACCOLADES

• Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier both won individual awards in the All-SEC voting from the league's head coaches. Zeigler earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year plaudits for the second straight season, while Chaz Lanier claimed the inaugural SEC Newcomer of the Year honor.
• The league's coaches tabbed Zeigler a First Team All-SEC competitor and Lanier a Second Team All- SEC designee. Zeigler is the 14th player in program history with at least three All-SEC nods that include two first-team choices. The others are Dale Ellis, Ernie Grunfeld, Allan Houston, Gilbert Huffman, Reggie Johnson, Bill Justus, Bernard King, Len Kosmalski, Chris Lofton, Dyron Nix, Paul "Lefty" Walther, Tony White and Ron Widby.
• Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack both made the cut for the coaches' SEC All-Defensive Team. This is just the ninth season—10th instance—with multiple players from the same team receiving SEC All-Defensive Team honors, including the second in a row for UT.
• Meanwhile, in the Associated Press voting, Lanier collected First Team All-SEC distinction and Zeigler garnered Second Team All-SEC status.
 
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#5
#5
A PAIR OF ALL-AMERICANS

• Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler both earned The Sporting News Third Team All-America plaudits. No other school put multiple players on the list.
• Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King, arguably the best duo to ever play together in the SEC, form the only other same-season All-American tandem in Tennessee history. They each earned All-America plaudits in both 1975-76 and 1976-77.
• Lanier and Zeigler are also the lone teammate pair on the Wooden Award Top 15 National Ballot, from which the Wooden All-Americans and Wooden Award winner will be selected.
• The two guards form one of just three teammate tandems to make the 30-man Lute Olson Award finalist list.
• Lanier and Zeigler are among the 30 players on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, one of just five teammate pairs on the list. Additionally, they are among seven teammate duos on 50-player USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List.
 
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#6
#6
QUITE THE CAMPAIGN

• Tennessee's eight AP top-25 triumphs this season are the most in program history, eclipsing the seven it had in both 2023-24 and 2021-22. It has now notched at least seven such victories in three of the last four years after never previously doing so.
• The Vols have six AP top-15 wins this year, matching 2021-22 for the most in school history. They had five in 2022-23, giving them five-plus in three of the last four campaigns after never before hitting that mark.
• This is the fifth time in program history, including the third in Rick Barnes' tenure, Tennessee has recorded at least three AP top-seven victories in a single season. It won four in both 2021-22 and 1976-77, as well as three apiece in 2018-19 and 2009-10.
• Tennessee has 25-plus wins in a season for the ninth time, including the sixth under Rick Barnes (all in the last eight years) and the fourth in a row. It won 25-plus games in the regular season for the third time, joining 2018-19 (27-4) and 2007-08 (28-3).
 
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#7
#7
TENNESSEE TORCHBEARER

• On 3/7/25, Chancellor Donde Plowman surpised Jahmai Mashack before a team film session by naming him a Torchbearer, which is the highest student honor conferred by the University of Tennessee. He was one of just 10 individuals to receive the prestigious distinction in 2025.
• Mashack is the fourth men's basketball to win the award, joining Carl Langschmidt (1953), Byrl Logan (1939) and Charles Lucas (1931).
• Mashack and swimmer Griffin Hadley, a fellow 2025 winner, are the first male non-football student-athletes to receive the honor in 72 years, dating to Langschmidt. The only other male student-athletes to garner it during that time are football standouts Joshua Dobbs (2016) and Trey Smith (2020).
• The award is given for academic achievement and outstanding commitment to others as demonstrated by the student's various activities and significant contributions to the university and the community.
 
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#14
#14
Doctrippin said:
He's a walking cardiologists nightmare. Way overweight and out of shape and one of the most high stress jobs there is.
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That's why he needs to come back to Knoxville and get with Barnes' strength and conditioning coach 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
#15
#15
Auburn did not look good yesterday. They played very uninspired. I don't know if is because that was their third time playing Ole Miss or because Ole Miss slowed the game game down tremendously. If they play like they did yesterday, I can see the Vols advancing.
 
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#17
#17
Need Chaz and ZZ to play both halfs today instead of splitting it up. Myself and some others were dogging on Igor yesterday but the stats show he had 12 pts, 7 RB's and 3 assists. So he had a good game for him. If we can get the same from him today would be big.
 
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#19
#19
OrangeBeachVol said:
Need Chaz and ZZ to play both halfs today instead of splitting it up. Myself and some others were dogging on Igor yesterday but the stats show he had 12 pts, 7 RB's and 3 assists. So he had a good game for him. If we can get the same from him today would be big.
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All really good points especially having Chaz and ZZ play two halves. We do need Igor and Chaz to take it to the rim and play aggressive and please block out on the boards and don’t allow second chance points. Guard 3 point shots!!!
 
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#20
#20
VOL720 said:
Auburn did not look good yesterday. They played very uninspired. I don't know if is because that was their third time playing Ole Miss or because Ole Miss slowed the game game down tremendously. If they play like they did yesterday, I can see the Vols advancing.
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Auburn hasn't looked great the last few games. It's all about not letting Broome get going as he does, like we allowed Brakefield to do. Also, they can be baited into some dumb fouls, especially Mazara. Mazara will have no benefit of the doubt so he's got to be very careful due to his history and reputation, so I'd go at him.
 
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#23
#23
Pick 'em game imo. Maybe the Nashville crowd can give us an edge. My gut says our guys really want it, and we will pull it off. Not super confident on that, though - Auburn is really good, to state the obvious. GBO!!!
 
#24
#24
Cade will be needed, and he’s going to have to put his fouling hammer back in the tool box. If we can’t body Broome, we’re in big trouble. He’s a bad matchup for us. Hopefully we learned from that Ole Miss game. We have to hold space low to limit easy buckets, easy rebounds and easy kick-outs.
 
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