Two Tennessee Players Who Could Give Auburn Fits

The Auburn Tigers are set to take on Tennessee, and two key players have to be a focus in the game plan

Auburn needs to play its matchups just right against Tennessee | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Though the Tennessee Volunteers aren’t ranked in the AP Poll at this moment, they’re far from a slouch as it pertains to talent. In fact, they’re coming off dominant wins against Georgia and Alabama, and will thus almost certainly cause significant issues for the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. 

Steven Pearl previewed the matchup in Friday’s press conference, and he mentioned two players in particular that stood out to him on the Vols’ roster. Let’s take a look at these two standouts and examine what Auburn needs to do to take down the Vols on the road.

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Nate Ament - Forward

Nate Ament has lept onto the scene ever since signing with Tennessee, and for good reason. The former five-star and fourth-ranked player in the country has already been predicted to be a top-five pick in the draft, per NBA Draft on SI. He also split last week’s SEC Player of the Week award with Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall, so this will be a big matchup for both of them.

Ament is averaging 29.2 minutes per game, and he’s made the most of his time on the court despite his age. The 19-year-old is averaging 16.3 points per game, second-best of the Vols, as well as 6.4 rebounds per game, the most of any Vol. 

Ament’s also coming off a set of big games, scoring 29 in the Volunteers’ victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide and 19 in the win over the Georgia Bulldogs. With such a dominant young athlete taking on the Tigers, Steven Pearl will have to get crafty if he wants to lead his program over the Vols. Ament stands at 6-foot-10, 185 pounds, meaning he’s not as physically dominant as Auburn players like Filip Jović and KeShaun Murphy.

 If the Tigers can be physical in the paint with Ament while also limiting his 30% shooting from beyond the arc, they’ll be in a good spot to make a run at the Vols.

“If winning is important to our guys, we’ll physically check out every possession,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl said. “If it’s not, we’ll look silly.”

Ja’Kobi Gillespie - Guard

Though Ament is the headliner for the Vols at this point in the season, the team’s leading scorer, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, must be accounted for, as he’s been dominant throughout the season and could take down the Tigers nearly single-handedly if not limited.

Gillespie, a senior, is averaging 19 points along with 2.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. He’s scored less than 10 points in just a single game this season: the Vols’ 15-point blowout win against Mercer to lead off the season. He’s since put up 30 points or more against two teams this year, including a 32-point performance against Rutgers and a season-high 34 against Texas.

“We’re going to have our hands full trying to guard those guys,” Steven Pearl said on Friday. “(Gillespie) does everything for them.”

The former Belmost standout turned Maryland Terrapin turned Tennessee Volunteer projects to be a massive problem for this Tiger team, but there’s one factor to note: he’s shooting the lowest percentage of his career at 42.1%.

Naturally, this follows since he’s up against tougher talent than ever, but it also presents an opportunity for a solid Tiger defense to force difficult shots from him. If the Tigers can avoid letting Gillespie get in space while limiting him from beyond the arc, they’ll put themselves in a good position to potentially take down the Vols in Knoxville, snapping a three-game home winning streak against the Tigers for the Vols.

Of course, it’ll be far from easy to limit players with as much talent and refinement as Gillespie and Ament, but the Tigers have shown an ability to make wins appear seemingly out of thin air when matched up with top talent.

Tipoff for this pivotal matchup is scheduled in Knoxville for 7:30 p.m. CST, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.