The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday evening in an SEC college basketball matchup. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. EST in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Volunteers are listed as 5.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total set at O/U 147.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction and pick for this SEC college basketball matchup.
Tennessee vs. Auburn prediction, preview
The Tennessee Volunteers are in a mix of teams in the second-tier in the SEC. They are 4-3 in conference play and are currently projected to be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. This is a big test for Tennessee against a good Auburn team. These are the types of games that you need to win at home if you want to be a top-six seed in March Madness. The Volunteers are coming off back-to-back good wins over Georgia and Alabama, and would love to keep it going. Tennessee has a great duo of stars in guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and forward Nate Ament. The two-man game that those two can run makes Tennessee hard to stop.
Auburn is one of the most exciting teams in college basketball. The Tigers rank ninth in the country in offensive rating and are efficient on that end of the floor. Where Auburn has struggled is on the defensive end, ranking 14th out of 16 SEC teams in points per game allowed. The Tigers do come into this game on a good winning run. They have rattled off four straight victories, including quality wins over Florida and Texas. Auburn has one of the best players in the SEC leading the way for them, senior forward Keyshawn Hall. Hall ranks 14th in the nation in scoring, averaging 20.9 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 boards per game. Hall gives Auburn a chance against anybody when he is playing at his best.
Tennessee vs. Auburn pick
My best bet for this game is for Auburn to cover the 5.5-point spread. This should be a tight game between two great teams. Tennessee is the more well-rounded group and is disciplined on the defensive end. However, Auburn is the team capable of putting up points in bunches and has the best player on the floor.
Keyshawn Hall should step up, just as he does in all of Auburn’s biggest games. In recent weeks, Hall scored 32 points against Texas A&M, 32 against Arkansas, 24 against Florida and 31 against Texas. Auburn competes in almost every game that it plays. Of its three SEC losses, two have come by four points or fewer, and only once in SEC play has a team managed to beat the Tigers by more than six points. That trend should continue here as Auburn has a great chance to pull off the upset in Knoxville.
