Auburn fought, and fought hard for 30 minutes of game time on Thursday.
But the final “4th quarter” saw Tennessee mount a 20-0 run en route to a 72-62 SEC Tournament victory over No. 12 seed Auburn at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“I thought their physicality really bothered us offensively in the second half and we let it affect our defense as the game went on,” said Auburn coach Steven Pearl. “Proud of my guys for how hard they fought all year. The guys battled, did a lot of really good things.”
Holding a 10-point lead with 10:26 left to play, Auburn imploded as Tennessee’s Nate Ament scored 10 consecutive points to fuel a 20-point swing in favor of the Vols with just under four minutes to play.
And Auburn, on the biggest stage to date, could not get over the hump, seemingly saving its worst for last and leaving its postseason fate in the hands of others as the Vols closed things out with a 31-11 run.
“Their physicality really bothered us. We didn’t do a good job of finishing around the rim,” Pearl said. “We had some sloppy turnovers in that run, too, that led to points in transition.”
Auburn mounted an early comeback in the first stanza to hold a 32-25 lead at the intermission.
Falling behind 7-2 in the early goings, Auburn pushed back with a 13-0 run.
The Tigers pushed Tennessee around, beating the Vols at their own game with seven offensive boards and a 10-2 edge in second-chance points at the break.
Auburn went cold from the field, missing eight straight shots, but rode Tahaad Pettiford’s 16 first-half points to a lead, despite an overall 36% clip from the field in the first half.
Tennessee’s 25 points in the first half were its second-lowest in a first-half this season.
“That was one of our best efforts defensively of the season in the first half, Pearl said. “We did a great job of executing and did a lot of things that were really effective in the first half. In the second half, they shot 27 free throws and did a good job of attacking the rim.”
Pettiford finished with a game-high 28 points with five triples in 36 minutes.
“My shots were falling, and my teammates were finding me,” said Pettiford. “We had a good rhythm in the first half, getting stops we needed.”
Auburn now sits on the outside looking in as Selection Sunday approaches. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his bracket moments after the Tigers’ loss, slotting them in the “First Four Out.”
The Tigers hope their body of work in the non-conference, with some key conference wins, will be enough to vault the team into the Field of 68.
With Miami (Ohio) losing in the MAC Tournament, the winner of that conference tournament will not receive an automatic bid, meaning a bubble squad will be left out.
“The work we’ve put in every single day,” Pettiford said. “These guys are ready to play, and they want to make it into the tournament. If we get that chance, we’ve got to go show what we can do.”
“We deserve to be in the tournament,” Pearl added. “Our guys have some of the best wins in college basketball. It’s a team that can win games in the tournament. I think they’ve done enough ultimately to have their name called on Selection Sunday.” TG
