Tennessee is back at first place in the SEC, but staying there will be arguably its biggest challenge to date.

The No. 4 Vols, who extended their win-streak to four games with a 35-point rout of Texas A&M last week, drew even with Alabama in the league standings before capping their regular season slate with four-straight ranked teams which are also vying for a conference title.

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For Tennessee, that last stretch begins Wednesday with No. 11 Auburn at Food City Center.

The Tigers are are in a two-way tie for second place, sharing the spot with South Carolina and are looking to move up with a late-February marquee road win, though the Vols are 6-1 at home in conference games this season with an average margin of victory of more than 25 points.

Tennessee turned a back-and-forth first half into a second half dismantling of the Aggies in its last outing as Dalton Knecht totaled 24 points and Jonas Aidoo scored 18 more along with 14 rebounds.

Zakai Zeigler finished just short of a triple-double with 9 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.

Auburn had little trouble on the road at Georgia in its most recent contest. The Tigers shot 62% from the field and were paced by Chad Baker-Mazara who scored a game-high 25 points and Johni Broome, who totaled 16.

Though Auburn is still in the thick of the SEC race, it enters the game with just a 4-3 record in road games.

Here is a closer look at the match up.

Who: No. 11 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 28 | 7 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center | Knoxville

TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst)

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 76, Auburn 73

Series: Tennessee leads, 80-45

POINTS PER GAME:

Auburn 82.7, Tennessee 80.3

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE:

Auburn 46.9%, Tennessee 45.6%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE:

Tennessee 34.5%, Auburn 34.1%

ASSISTS:

Auburn 17.6, Tennessee 17.3

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Rick Barnes said about Auburn ahead of key SEC clash

REBOUNDS:

Tennessee 39.1, Auburn 38.6

BLOCKS:

Auburn 5.9, Tennessee 4.8

STEALS:

Tennessee 8.1, Auburn 7.4

-- Tennessee will face four-straight top 20 teams to round its regular season schedule. It marks only the second time in program history that the Vols have had to face four consecutive AP Top 25 teams. Tennessee went 1-3 in that stretch between Jan. 20-31, 2004.

-- Tennessee reached a season-high ranking in both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches Poll this week, jumping to No. 4. It marks the third time in the last seasons under head coach Rick Barnes that the Vols have reached No. 4.

-- Tennessee has dominated as of late. The Vols have won their last four games by an average of 26.0 points, marking the first time a Tennessee team has averaged that many points in SEC play since the 1965-66 season.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Bracketology update: Vols earn top 2 seed, Lady Vols continue to move up

-- Tennessee and Auburn will meet as ranked teams for the fourth time in the last eight meetings between the two teams. The Vols enter with a 2-1 record in those games. Before their March 17, 2019 match up, Tennessee and Auburn were ranked just twice in the first 85 games in the AP Poll era.

-- Auburn 6-foot-10 forward Johni Broome leads the Tigers with 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He headlines a two-big lineup that includes 6-foot-7 forward Chaney Johnson, who averages 3.5 rebounds per game.

-- Auburn may be short-handed when it faces Tennessee. The Tigers have been without forward Jaylin Williams after he exited their loss to Kentucky with a knee injury last week. According to Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, Williams is a "game-time decision" vs. the Vols. Williams averages 13 points and 4.7 rebounds.

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