After a couple of early scares on the top side of the bracket, the favorites pulled out a couple of wins, setting up a tough matchup for the first semifinal of the day. Auburn staved off Ole Miss in a low-scoring affair to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year. The Tigers didn’t dazzle against the Rebels on Friday, putting up 62 points to start the day. Johni Broome scored 23 points and pulled in 15 rebounds to help Auburn end a two-game skid. Auburn struggled with turnovers in the win, coughing the ball up 15 times, which helped keep the game close. But luckily for Bruce Pearl’s squad, Auburn's defense was ready to play. The Tigers held Ole Miss to 57 points on 37.7 percent from the floor.
Tennessee, on the other hand, didn’t need quite as dominant of a defensive effort to get past its quarterfinal opponent. The Volunteers found some separation in the second half, taking down an upset-minded Texas team 83-72. Chaz Lanier did most of the scoring in the first half, scoring 17 of the Vols first 21 points, but it was all Zakai Zeigler in the second half. After going scoreless for the first 20 minutes, the senior guard erupted for 19 second-half points. Tennessee’s defense held Texas star freshman Tre Johnson to 11 points, one of his lowest-scoring games of the season.
When these two teams met earlier this season it was an incredibly low-scoring game that Auburn won 53-51. Auburn is hoping to make it back to the championship game for the second straight year, while Tennessee is looking to make its first trip the final game since 2022.
How to watch Tennessee vs Auburn
- Date: Saturday, March 15
- Time: 1:00 pm ET
- Venue: Bridgestone Arena
- How to Watch (TV): ESPN
- Steaming: fubo TV
- Tennessee record: 26-6
- Auburn record: 28-4
Tennessee vs Auburn odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Money line:
- Tennessee +150
- Auburn -182
Spread:
- Tennessee +3.5 (-102)
- Auburn -3.5 (-120)
Total:
- 137.5 (Over -115/Under -105)
Tennessee injury report
- N/A
Auburn injury report
- N/A
Tennessee and Auburn series history
- Tennessee all-time record vs Auburn 81-46
Tennessee vs Auburn prediction
Tennessee has the edge defensively. The Vols have shut down nearly every opponent they’ve played the season, only Missouri has managed to score more than 80 points against Tennessee. The Vols do just about everything well on the defensive end, but one area in which Tennessee has found a ton of success is limiting its opponent's points in the paint. Since the start of SEC play, Tennessee is only giving up 25.9 points in the paint (only Texas A&M has a lower number), which is where Auburn does a lot of its offensive damage. But Tennessee also does a great job at keeping opponents off the offensive glass, allowing just under nine per game in conference play. Zakai Zeigler (13.1 ppg) and Chaz Lanier (17.9 ppg) make up most of the offense for the Vols, so it is incredibly important that Tennessee doesn’t let this turn into a high-scoring affair. Tennessee’s offense has shown flashes this season, but putting up huge offensive numbers isn’t where the Vols like to live.
While Auburn’s defense has been great most of the season, its offense is what teams need to watch out for. This season, the Tigers are averaging just over 85 points per game, with five players averaging 10 or more points. Johni Broome, as he has all season, leads Auburn with 18.6 points per game. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the team can’t put up impressive offensive numbers. The Tigers can score from just about anywhere on the court, which makes them difficult to stop. Auburn is one of the best three-point shoot teams in the country, making just over 37 percent from deep. The Tigers can also score with relative ease inside the three-point line.
Tennessee’s defense is good enough to keep the Vols in every game they play, but it's hard to pick against Auburn’s offense. This one is likely higher scoring than when these two teams met earlier in the season, but probably not by much. Auburn can dominate on both ends of the court which is why the Tigers should take this game.