KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee men's basketball will be in another top-25 matchup on Saturday when Auburn comes to town. The Vols are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll and Auburn is ranked No. 25.
The Vols are coming off a road loss to rival Florida, losing 67-54 on Wednesday. The Tigers are coming off a 94-73 win against Georgia.
Both teams are tied for second in the conference standings at 7-2 in SEC play.
Both teams come into this game touting solid defenses. Tennessee has the most solid defense in the country, leading the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.348) and three-point defense (.225). They rank third in scoring defense (55.1 OPP PPG).
Auburn ranks 19th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (39.4%). They also rank seventh in three-point field goal defense (27.8%).
The Vols are led by three double-digit scorers. Santiago Vescovi leads the team with 12.2 points per game, Zakai Zeigler is second on the team averaging 11.4 and Olivier Nkamhoua averages 11.
Zeigler is second in the SEC in assists per game (5.0). He and Vescovi are amongst the best pickpocketers in the league too. They both rank tied for second in steals per game (2.2).
The Tigers are led in scoring by Wendell Green Jr. who averages 13.8 per game.
Tennessee comes off a game where they had a tough time guarding Florida forward Colin Castleton in the post. Auburn forward Johnni Broome is fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (52.8%) and averages 13.6 points per game. He also ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.9).
Auburn also has two of the best shot blockers in the league. Broome is one of them, ranking third in blocks per game (2.5) and center Dylan Cardwell ranks fifth in blocks per game (1.6).
Tennessee and Auburn play in front of a sold-out crowd inside Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN.
