By SCOTT FELTS
The Southeastern Conference tournament got started for the No. 5 seed Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday, as they faced the 12th-seeded Auburn Tigers at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tennessee (22-10, 11-7) logged its 22nd win for the fifth straight year, a first in program history,. with a come-from-behind 72-62 win over Auburn (17-16, 7-11). A 21-2 run late in the second half, started by 10 straight points from returning star freshman Nate Ament, saw the Vols tie the game with 7:31 left to play and never look back.
Let’s go Beyond the Box Score and see how this outcome happened for the Vols.
Foul Start: Tennessee led wire to wire in the lone regular season meeting on the way to a 77-69 home win in January. That was not the case on Thursday as Auburn led for most of the first half and by as many as 11 after Tennessee point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie picked up his second foul with 16:24 left and sat for four minutes before Barnes was forced to put him back on the court amid a 12-0 Auburn run. Gillespie never picked up another foul in the game but, even with his return, the Vols still scored their second fewest points in the first half all season as Auburn took a 32-25 lead into the locker room.
He’s Back: As mentioned above, Ament returned to action, started, and showed no signs of the leg injury that sidelined him for the previous two and a half games. He scored the first five points for Tennessee, 10 straight in that pivotal second-half run, and finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three blocks in 32 minutes. Splitting his workload evenly between the two halves, Ament had 10 points and three blocks n 16 first-half minutes.
Man In The Middle: Tennessee forward Felix Okpara became the seventh Vol in seven straight seasons to be named to the SEC All Defensive Team. Okpara’s defense, especially in the second half was a big factor in the game. Even though his stat line only included six points, he also contributed seven rebounds, an assist, two steals, and two blocks.
Rebounding Reversal: Tennessee is the second best rebounding team in the country but on Thursday the Tigers scrapped to a 40-39 rebounding advantage (13-10 on the offensive glass) and a 22-13 second chance points advantage.
Pettiford, Not Hall Leads Tigers: Senior forward Keyshawn Hall, a third-team All-SEC selection, leads Auburn with 20.2 points per game. On Thursday, however, it was guard Tahaad Pettiford who paced the Tigers with 28 points to Hall’s 10.
Up Next: With the win, the Vols will face No. 4 seed and 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt (24-7, 11-7) Friday around 3 PM Eastern in the quarterfinals. The Commodores are coming off an 86-82 victory over the Vols in Knoxville last Saturday.
Tip Ins: Tennessee improved to 6-2 in its last eight meetings against Auburn. … The Vols are 11-4 all-time against Auburn in the SEC tournament (4-1 at Bridgestone). … Until Thursday’s 10 point win, the last eight games between the two teams have been determined by nine points or fewer with five of those within five points. … Tennessee is 77-59 in SEC tournament play including 47-18 in openers. Under Barnes the Vols are 14-8. … Tennessee is now 22-15 at Bridgestone Arena including a 14-12 mark in SEC tournament action. … Gillespie became the fifth Vol in five years to earn first-team All-SEC honors. He finished Thursday’s game with 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, and three steals including the layup that gave the Vols the lead for good.