Tennessee had a shot to win back-to-back SEC regular season titles for the first time in school history, but a pesky Auburn team had other ideas, as the Tigers upset the No. 5 Vols 84-80 on Saturday inside a crazed Auburn Arena.
Tennessee (27-4, 15-3) capped off its regular season finale with a clunky effort, with spurts of brilliance from Grant Williams and Jordan Bone mixed in with poor transition defense (-14 in fast break points), foul trouble (Admirl Schofield played just 13 minutes) and way too many turnovers (14). The Vols had some bad breaks go against them, too, namely an Auburn 3-pointer that wasn’t but still counted as such late in the game. Williams’ block on Jared Harper that happened to go straight to Samir Doughty for a 3 just before the shot clock expired was another indication it probably wasn’t Tennessee’s day.
Here are four takeaways from the afternoon…
1. SLOPPINESS DOOMS THE DAY
Tennessee played fine (more on that below) in the first half, but Auburn quickly made it a game after halftime due to UT’s complete disinterest to start the second half. The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 run after a couple UT turnovers and a shot-clock violation — their second of the day.
The two teams then traded punches for the final 15 minutes of the game, with the Tigers simply outshooting the Vols.
Tennessee’s key guys made some huge plays to help stymie Auburn’s momentum at times — key plays that come to mind include Jordan Bone’s explosive move to the hoop for a and-1, Jordan Bowden’s 3 just before the shot clock went off and Williams’ spin-and-scoop and-1 to to tie the game — but the Vols also suffered from bad shot selection (Lamonte Turner missed seven straight 3s to end the game and as a team UT was 2 of its last 9 from 3 after the game was tied at 59) and horrible defense, as Harper, Bryce Brown and Chuma Okeke attacked the lane for layups and kick-out 3s.
Tennessee knew Auburn’s formula: pace + 3s = potential upset, yet the Vols did little to stop it. The Tigers shot 54 percent from the field in the second half, including 44 percent from 3 (7 of 16). They came into the game having made a league-high 330 triples and they drained 13 more on Saturday.
2. GRANT WILLIAMS. BOSS.
Despite the defeat, Tennessee’s junior forward cemented his status as the league’s best player for the second straight year. Williams was unstoppable working from the high post or as an offensive rebounder. He finished the game with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting, making 9 of 10 free throws. He had nine rebounds, six on the offensive side. He also took a big charge when Tennessee was making a second-half run and had two blocks and three assists.
Williams single-handily wiped away Auburn’s lead with about six minutes to go, as the Tigers went on a 7-0 run with Williams on the bench. Upon his return, he found Bone in the corner for a 3 and then scored four straight points to tie the game.
3. VOLS CONTROL FIRST HALF
Both teams came out firing Saturday, as the early start had no effect on either team’s propensity to play with pace.
In a back-and-forth affair early in the first half, Tennessee and Auburn traded buckets and turnovers for the opening eight minutes of the game, with no official stoppage coming until 12:30 in the half.
With their usual combination of spacing and execution, Tennessee carved up Auburn with easy buckets from Williams, Bowden and Bone. The Tigers had no answers early for Williams, who found his sweet-spot in the high post, or Bone, who slithered into the lane for three layups and multiple assists to open shooters.
The Vols shot 55 percent and had nine assists on 17 made baskets in the first half, with Bowden burying a pair of treys and leading all players with 12 points (on 5 of 7 shooting).
Tennessee held an 11-point lead at one point, but the Vols squandered their margin with some shaky play down the stretch. Schofield was limited with foul trouble, playing just five minutes, so Barnes tried to steal minutes with Jalen Johnson (had a bad turnover for a dunk on the other end) and Derrick Walker. It didn’t work. By the end of the half, Tennessee led 41-35, as the Tigers fired up 3 after 3 after 3 to stay within striking distance. In all, Auburn hit six treys in the first half on 18 attempts.
4. THIS & THAT
Sometimes, Rick Banes can’t win for losing. Case in point in the first half: Tennessee’s veteran coach hoped to steal a couple possessions playing zone defense so his team wouldn’t get into further foul trouble. On the first possession in zone, the Tigers go right inside to Okeke, who immediately who drew a and-1 off a foul from Kyle Alexander. Barnes was livid and Tennessee went back to man-to-man the next possession. … Yves Pons played just two minutes against Mississippi State, but the sophomore swingman didn’t see the court at all Saturday in Auburn.
