AUBURN – Winning two games without its star center and maintaining its No. 1 ranking, Auburn is gearing up for its biggest challenge in conference play so far, as No. 6 Tennessee visits Neville Arena on Saturday for the first-ever top-10 matchup between the two foes.
“These two teams, Tennessee and Auburn, have been the best two teams in the SEC – at least by winning percentage – over the last eight years,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “Excited about College GameDay being here. We're the only school in the country that can say – at least at this point – that College GameDay has been on our campus five years in a row in college basketball. Now, if they go back to Duke later on this year, if they go back to Kansas later on this year, then they can say the same thing. But still, to be in that company, it speaks to the incredible home-court advantage that we have at Neville Arena, the best home-court advantage in all of college basketball, thanks to the Auburn Family.”
The status of Johni Broome heading into Saturday's matchup is still unclear after he suffered a sprained ankle against South Carolina nearly two weeks ago. Pearl noted on Thursday that Broome would move around a little bit in practice and would be further evaluated.
“We'll practice this afternoon, and there's a possibility he'll try and practice, but we're not sure. I'll obviously know more tomorrow and Saturday. So I don't know whether he's questionable or possible, but I do know he's going to try to move around a little bit today and we'll just have to see how he does,” Pearl said on Thursday.
Coming off a 68-56 win over No. 14 Mississippi State, the Vols use stifling defense – third in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom – under Rick Barnes, a recipe that has only brought success. The Vols have only allowed four opponents to reach the 70-point mark this season, as they boast the second-best defensive field goal percentage (36.3%) and the best 3-point defense in the nation, holding opponents to just (25.9%) from beyond the arc.
“They have a system of defenses where they're able to guard everything. They do it with great ball pressure. They do it by extending catches. They do it with athleticism. They don't take possessions off. Everything we do will be extremely well scouted and fits within the framework of what they guard. So, it'll come down to being able to execute and make some tough shots,” Pearl said. “You're just not going to get anything easy against Tennessee. They're very physical offensively, very physical defensively and you've got to be able to handle that physicality on both ends of the floor.”
The Vols are led by senior guard Chaz Lanier, who leads the conference in scoring at 18.3 ppg, and fellow senior Zakai Zeigler at 12.2 ppg and 7.4 assists per game, which also leads the conference. The Tigers are plenty familiar with Zeigler, as the fifth-year senior posted 17 points and nine assists in a Vols’ win a year ago.
“He's one of the leading assist guys in the country, and he's a brilliant passer. He's already set the all-time record for Tennessee in steals. He's been the face of that program for a long time. In many ways, they go as he goes, and he always goes pretty well,” Pearl said of Zeigler.
Lanier, who previously reigned at North Florida, boasts 2x SEC Player of the Week honors along with an AP National Player of the Week award while shooting 42.6% from deep.
“He's got great size like Dalton (Knecht), incredibly quick release, and he's made big shots. He's made contested shots. He can shoot from three. He's got a midrange game,” Pearl said. “So, he is definitely a guy that can win games for them.”
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, and ESPN’s "College GameDay" will air in the arena starting at 10 a.m.
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