No. 7 Tennessee men vs. Auburn at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama
Time: Noon
TV/radio: ESPN/102.3 FM
Likely lineups (with heights and scoring averages in parentheses)
TENNESSEE (27-3, 15-2 Southeastern Conference)
Projected starters: F Kyle Alexander (6-11, 7.6); G Jordan Bone (6-3, 13.3); G Admiral Schofield (6-6, 16.4); G Lamonte Turner (6-2, 10.6); F Grant Williams (6-7, 19.1).
Key reserves: G Jordan Bowden (6-5, 10.1); F John Fulkerson (6-9, 3.4).
AUBURN (21-9, 10-7)
Projected starters: G Bryce Brown (6-3, 15.7); G Samir Doughty (6-4, 7.2); G Jared Harper (5-11, 15.2); F Anfernee McLemore (6-7, 7.3); F Chuma Okeke (6-8, 11.5).
Key reserves: G Malik Dunbar (6-6, 7.2); F Horace Spencer (6-8, 4.5).
TIGERS REPORT
Auburn leads the SEC in 3-pointers made per game (11.0) as well as 3-point percentage (.375). The Tigers enter today as part of a logjam of five teams fighting for the No. 4 seed in next week’s league tournament, which would come with a double bye into Friday’s quarterfinals. Auburn must beat Tennessee and have South Carolina drop its regular-season finale against Georgia today to have any chance at that spot. The Gamecocks own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Auburn by virtue of their 80-77 win on Jan. 22.
KEY MATCHUP
While the Volunteers’ offense has received greater attention for most of the season, it’s been their defense that was always going to be the difference them between being a good team or a great team. The past few games have shown how good they can be on that end of the court, and slowing down an opponent that takes 48 percent of its shots from 3-point range – which means stopping the initial penetration, which has led to so many open looks against Tennessee this season – is just the next challenge heading into the postseason.