Tennessee stuns Auburn in SEC Semifinal, shakes up picture for 1-seeds in NCAA Tournament

Entering Saturday, it was all chalk in the SEC tournament as the top four seeds made the semifinals. That changed quickly with the first game of the day.

No. 1 Auburn squared off in a thrilling matchup against No. 4 seed Tennessee. The game started out hot as the two teams combined to make their first eight shots, and the offenses remained on full display into the second half. It got interesting down the stretch, too, as Auburn got within two points.

But when the final buzzer sounded, the No. 1 seed went down. Tennessee came away with the victory over Auburn to advance to the SEC tournament championship – and create an interesting conversation around the top seeds in the NCAA tournament in the process.

Tennessee’s lead got up to 12 points before Auburn kicked things into gear with an impressive 12-2 run to make it a two-point ballgame. The Volunteers were then able to counter-punch, though, getting the lead back up to multiple possessions as time ticked away.

Tennessee was up by three points with 14.8 seconds to go, but a foul on Chad Baker-Mazara sent Jahmai Mashack to the free throw line. He hit both shots, and they helped seal a 70-65 Vols victory.

Tennessee entered Saturday as a No. 2 seed in On3’s James Fletcher III’s updated Bracketology. However, there was still a path for the Vols to get to the 1-seed line. Defeating Auburn, widely considered the No. 1 overall team in the Field of 68, sure could help boost the resume.

Immediately after the game ended, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his updated Bracketology projections. He had Tennessee as the No. 6 overall seed in the field, two spots away from the 1-seed line. Alabama was directly in front of the Volunteers, meaning its matchup against Florida could be crucial for seeding purposes.

As for Auburn, Lunardi still has the Tigers as the No. 1 overall seed. They’re virtually locked into a 1-seed, but they still appear in line to be the top team in the full bracket some Sunday’s selection show.

Zakai Zeigler had a huge game to lead the Tennessee offense, dropping 20 points, including nine from the free throw line. Jordan Gainey also added 15 points off the bench, and Chaz Lanier had 12 points.

For Auburn, Johni Broome led all scorers with 23 points to go with six rebounds. Miles Kelly had 13, as well. The Tigers made things interesting down the stretch as they mounted a comeback, but they ultimately came up just short as Tennessee went 25-for-27 from the free throw line to stay out in front.