A defensive battle can be expected from the Tennessee Volunteers (11-12) and Auburn Tigers (9-13) when two of the Southeastern’s top scoring defenses battle it out at Thompson-Boling Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and can be seen on SEC and ES3.
The Volunteers are hoping for a better outcome after their 85-67 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. Kevin Punter was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points. The Tigers are coming off a 65-55 loss at the hands of Georgia on Saturday. Cinmeon Bowers scored 12 points and recorded 13 rebounds earning his ninth double-double of the season.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Tigers won the first game 83-77. Despite the loss, Punter was a top performer in the game with 31 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Volunteers have gone 11-12 Straight Up (SU) and 11-10-1 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 3-7 ATS. The Volunteers have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 65.7 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 77.3 points per game. The Volunteers are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting a superb .747 from the free throw line. As for the Tennessee defense, an area where the Volunteers are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 5.3 blocks per game, 26th in Division I.
In the other locker room, the Tigers head into the game with records of 9-12 ATS and 9-13 SU. Auburn is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting 9.0 shots from three-point range per game.
Following the Tigers’ latest win over Tennessee, Auburn is still behind in the head-to-head record over their most recent meetings, 2-8 SU. Furthermore, Tennessee leads the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Tennessee held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once in the last five games, while Auburn wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tenn, ATS Winner – Tenn
Notes
Tennessee averages 77.3 points per game (ranked 74th). Auburn, on the other hand, allows 77.5 points per game (ranked 226th).
In its last game, Tennessee lost by a margin of 18 points. Auburn is 2-4 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Tennessee has a 2-1 record in blowouts.
The Tennessee Volunteers average a field goal percentage of 42.0% this season. The Auburn Tigers have a subpar record of 4-10 when opponents have a FG% of 42.0% or greater.
The Tennessee Volunteers and the Auburn Tigers both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Tennessee is 273rd and 267th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Auburn is 317th and 258th in these categories.
Tennessee ranks 89th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.20. Auburn is ranked lower at 291st with an A/TO of .87.
Tennessee, the 79th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 38.5 rebounds per game. Auburn does worse, ranked 176th with 36.4.
Tennessee records 6.0 steals per game. Auburn is 5-6 when giving up at least 6 steals.
