NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a back-and-forth affair that saw 18 lead changes, top-seeded Auburn fell short of a second half comeback against No. 4 seed Tennessee in Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal game at Bridgestone Arena, 70-65.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Vols’ second half offense staggers Auburn
Auburn held a 33-32 lead after the break and started the second half off on a 6-0 run to extend its lead to five in the early goings of the last 20 minutes. But fouls and missed shots plagued the Tigers, and Tennessee never missed a beat.
Auburn went on a near five-minute scoring drought as Tennessee poured in basket after basket to go on an overall 24-8 run with seven minutes left in the contest and give themselves a 12-point cushion. During a 13-1 Tennessee run, Auburn went without a bucket for nearly five minutes and was just 1 of 7 from the field, and it seemed as if the Tigers had no answer.
Tigers don’t shy away, ultimately fall short of comeback
With the Vols holding a 12-point lead with 6:05 remaining, Auburn quickly answered with a 10-0 run in just one minute of play. A pair of threes from Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly and five points from Johni Broome cut Auburn’s deficit to four with 3:24 remaining.
Auburn continued to get good looks in the last three minutes of the game but couldn’t capitalize on open shots. In a 3-point game with 39.2 seconds remaining, Broome missed a pair of free throws and a layup, but the Tigers won possession on a jump ball moments later, though Baker-Mazara couldn’t connect on the deep ball with 16 seconds remaining to tie it at 68.
Tennessee connected on a pair of late free throws to push away with a five-point lead as Auburn’s attempt at a comeback fell short.
Foul trouble plagues the Tigers
Auburn committed eight fouls in the first 20 minutes, but Miles Kelly and Denver Jones each picked up their third fouls within the first two minutes of the second half, and it was a sign of what was to come.
Auburn committed 21 personal fouls in the game, 13 in the second half as it watched Tennessee convert 25 of 27 free throws for a 92% clip. Eighteen of the Vols’ 38 second-half points came from the charity stripe, and they doubled their makes from the field as they reached the bonus with 11:54 remaining.
Vols' bench breaks loose, Auburn’s goes stagnant
Tennessee scored 25 points off its bench as the Tigers struggled to garner any production of their own with just three points off the bench, coming on a Chaney Johnson deep ball in the first half.
Tahaad Pettiford, Chris Moore and Ja’Heim Hudson combined to go 0-for-9 off the bench. Pettiford and Johnson were -20 and -11 in the +/-, respectively.
Auburn will await to see its final seeding for the Big Dance with Selection Sunday set for Sunday at 5 p.m.
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