What Would a Win at Tennessee Mean for the Auburn Tigers?

The Auburn Tigers have a massive opportunity to prove themselves once again on Saturday night, as Auburn travels up north for a road battle with the Tennessee Volunteers.

Auburn is 6-4 against Tennessee in the last 10 meetings between the two programs, but the Tigers haven’t emerged victorious from Knoxville since March 30, 2020. Auburn has lost four of the last six to the Vols, and although the most recent meeting was Tennessee’s SEC Tournament win last March, most Auburn fans remember Miles Kelly’s corner three-pointer in the closing moments to lift the Tigers to a huge 53-51 victory in what was likely one of the loudest moments Neville Arena has ever seen.

As Steven Pearl returns to his alma mater for the first time as Auburn’s head coach, the Tigers are set for yet another Quad 1 game that could further boost their resume. Auburn is currently 4-6 against Quad 1 opponents, with wins over St. John’s, NC State, Arkansas, and Florida.

“Everybody on this team has confidence after this winning streak,” freshman forward Filip Jovic said. “We need to still be hungry against Tennessee because this is a tough game.

The matchup will not be an easy task, as Tennessee is extremely similar in certain aspects to the reigning national champion Florida Gators.

The Vols are one of the best rebounding teams in college basketball, ranking No. 4 nationally in rebound margin (+12.7) and No. 6 nationally in rebounds per game (43.0). They also sit at No. 3 in the country with 15.7 offensive rebounds per outing.

Freshman star forward Nate Ament leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 per game, while forwards Jaylen Carey (6.3 RPG) and Felix Okpara (5.9 RPG) rank second and third for the Vols.

Auburn’s gameplan should be somewhat similar to its scouting report for Florida last weekend, as relentless effort and energy on the glass and the defensive end will be an essential key to success.

However, Auburn demonstrated last week that they are able to compete with elite bigs, even despite being undersized at some positions.

“While Florida was a battle, this one is going to be that and some, as far as trying to keep these guys off the offensive glass,” Pearl said. “If winning is important to our guys, we’ll physically check out every possession. If it’s not, we’ll look silly.”

Both Auburn and Tennessee are playing some of their best basketball recently, with the Tigers experiencing a four-game winning streak and the Vols returning home after two road victories at No. 17 Alabama and at Georgia. Tennessee has won three of its last four, beating Texas A&M for its only SEC loss thus far and falling to Kentucky by two points.

This Saturday night showdown in Thompson-Boling Arena is absolutely massive for Auburn, as it would improve its SEC record to 6-3 and could launch the Tigers into firm contention for the regular-season conference title. Texas A&M, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Florida are all ahead of Auburn heading into Saturday, but that could very well change by the end of the day.

Additionally, a win would also mean Auburn rides a five-game winning streak into the Iron Bowl of Basketball next weekend. The Tigers don’t play a midweek game before the next Saturday, meaning Auburn could be rolling into the Alabama game red hot, and optimism surrounding this team would certainly be as high as it has been all season.