Tennessee headed back to SEC Tournament title game after beating No. 1 Auburn, 70-65

NASHVILLE — Tennessee wanted a second shot at Auburn after failing to close in the final two minutes of a 53-51 heartbreaker on the road back in January. The Vols didn’t waste their opportunity in the SEC Tournament semifinal Saturday afternoon. 

Zakai Zeigler scored 20 points, Jordan Gainey had 15 off the bench and Chaz Lanier scored 12 as Tennessee took over in the second half and held on in a frantic finish, winning 70-65.

Tennessee (27-6) now advances to face either No. 2 Florida or No. 3 Alabama in Sunday’s championship game, set for 1 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN. It’s the fourth SEC Tournament championship game appearance during the Rick Barnes era.

Auburn (28-5) got 23 points and six rebounds from Johni Broome. Miles Kelly scored 13 and Denver Jones had 10.

Tennessee had rallied from down five to up 12 in the second half, outscoring Auburn 26-9 over a span of 10 minutes, but the lead was gone in a blink. Auburn went on a 10-0 run in less than two minutes, fueled by three turnovers by the Vols, to turn a 64-52 deficit with six minutes to go to a two-point game, at 64-62 with 3:56 left.

Felix Okpara stopped Broome at the rim out of the timeout, then Cade Phillips and Gainey scored back-to-back buckets to steady the ship and get Tennessee’s lead back to five in the final two minutes.

Chad Baker-Mazara missed what would have been a game-tying three with 16 seconds left, after Auburn forced a held ball in the backcourt with Tennessee leading 68-65. Jahmai Mashack hit two free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to put the game away.

Auburn’s lead was stretched to five, its biggest of the game at the time, after Broome scored to make it 41-36 with 16:43 left, giving the Tigers an 8-4 start to the second half. Tennessee rallied with Mashack and Gainey are throws then Gainey tied it with a three with 14:43 to go.

A Darlinstone Dubar bucket, Gainey free throws and a Phillips bucket in the post got the lead to seven, matching the biggest of the game at the time. Lanier then hit a jumper, Dubar hit two free throws and Zeigler hit a three to get the lead to 10.

Tennessee trailed by one at halftime, after fast first half 

Tennessee trailed 33-32 at halftime after leading by as many as seven points in the first half. 

Zeigler drove and scored with 7:52 left in the half, building the lead to 26-19, but Auburn fought back with a 10-0 run over the next 3:58, taking the lead on a Dylan Cardwell transition dunk at the 3:27 mark.

After scoring 17 points in the first eight minutes Friday in the win over Texas, Lanier started a perfect 4-for-4 from the field against Auburn and scored 10 points in the first half. He made three of Tennessee’s first four shots of the game, including a deep three over Broome for an early 11-10 lead. 

Zeigler scored 11 before halftime, going 7-for-7 at the foul line. Broome led Auburn with 12 points in the first half.

Up Next: The SEC Tournament championship game or Selection Sunday

Tennessee now advances to face either No. 2 Florida or No. 3 Alabama in Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game. 

It’s the fourth SEC Tournament title game appearance for the Vols during the Rick Barnes era. They won the 2022 SEC Tournament in Tampa, lost in 2019 to Auburn in Nashville and lost in 2018 to Kentucky in St. Louis. 

Tennessee beat Florida 64-44 on February 1 at Food City Center and lost 73-43 at Florida on January 7. The Vols beat Alabama 79-76 on March 1 in Knoxville on Jahmai Mashack’s 35-foot buzzer-beater, erasing what was a four-point Alabama lead with 35 seconds left.