KNOXVILLE – With just over three minutes remaining in Tuesday night’s men’s basketball game between Tennessee and Auburn, a fan took advantage of a quiet moment inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
“The FBI is coming, Bruce!” the fan yelled. “You’re going to jail!”
It was Bruce Pearl’s Tigers who got the last laugh, however, as the former Tennessee coach directed Auburn to a 94-84 victory over the No. 23 Volunteers in a game that took an increasingly familiar shape.
Tennessee (9-4) lost a double-digit first-half lead for the second game in a row as it began Southeastern Conference play 0-2. All four of the Volunteers’ losses this season have come in games they led by nine or more points in the first half.
“They bullied us,” Tennessee sophomore forward Grant Williams said.