Tennessee lets one slip away late to No. 1 Auburn, 53-51

A tough one.

“The most physical game I’ve seen all year,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said.

Welcome to Tennessee basketball, Auburn. And welcome to the jungle, Tennessee.

No. 1 Auburn hosted No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night in a top ten showdown and a big one for the SEC standings. It marked the return of Johni Broome for the Tigers, and a chance for Tennessee to remind everyone why they spend several weeks at the top spot in the polls.

What did we get? A rock fight, naturally. An even game ended up with a 22-20 score at the halftime break, with just one three pointer made by either side.

Broome quickly found his footing, while Tennessee dealt with big foul trouble. Chaz Lanier picked up two while Igor Milicic picked up three. Tennessee’s already thin frontcourt would have to be careful with Milicic, meaning Cade Phillips would see plenty of time.

A quick burst from Tennessee gave the Volunteers the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. A Lanier breakaway dunk was followed by four straight points from Jahmai Mashack to give Tennessee a 28-26 advantage.

Auburn’s answer was answered by Chaz Lanier, who hit Tennessee’s first three of the night with 12 minutes left to go in the game. The under 12 media timeout saw a score of just 33-33.

Jordan Gainey, playing with flu-like symptoms, hit a big three out of an inbound play. Auburn would answer with a layup, then an alley-oop went down from Felix Okpara. A little offensive burst — at least for this game — gave us a back and forth until the under eight timeout. Tennessee and Auburn were tied at 38 a piece.

Miles Kelly scored his first points of the night with a huge three with six minutes to play. Gainey was stuffed at the rim, then Auburn drew a foul at the other end. Chad Baker-Mazara hit two, giving Auburn a very sudden five-point lead. That big sequence was answer by Zakai Zeigler, who fought through contact to get to the rim.

Gainey would drill a three right after. Back and forth we went — 45-45.

Lanier then dropped one in from the parking lot to give Tennessee a 48-47 lead. He had been quiet all night long, but when Tennessee needed him in the second half, he woke right up.

Tennessee got the stop they needed, then Zakai Zeigler drew the foul at the other end playing iso-ball. The gritty point guard drained both from the free throw stripe. Mashack would hit another the next possession.

Tennessee’s four point lead was cut to two by Tahaad Pettiford. The lead was 51-49 with 1:34 to play.

A very questionable travel call on Felix Okpara after he was grabbed by Johni Broome gave Auburn new life. Would could have been a foul ended up being a turnover. Broome would miss the front end of a one-and-one in a classic “ball don’t lie” moment.

Auburn would get the stop they had to have as Zeigler’s layup rolled off the rim. The Tigers took possession with 44 seconds left, down two. Broome’s missed turned into an offensive rebound, then Kelly drilled a corner three.

Here’s the sequence that decided the game.

Auburn took the lead at 52-51 and Milicic couldn’t convert on the other end. Tennessee was forced to foul with 13.7 seconds remaining. Pettiford hit one of two, keeping the door open.

Rick Barnes drew up an open corner three for Zeigler, but it didn’t fall. A scrum for the ball was won by Broome — who else?

Final score: Auburn 53, Tennessee 51

Broom led all scorers with 16 points in his return for Auburn, though Tennessee shut him down for much of the second half.

Tennessee was led by Zakai Zeigler with 14 points, who was brilliant tonight for the offense. He was the guy making everything go, making magic happen in the paint time and time again. Chaz Lanier scored 10 points (2-6 from 3pt) and Jordan Gainey gutted out eight points and made a couple of big baskets when it counted the most.

Overall, this was two teams that played identical games on the statsheet. Auburn just found the offensive board and the rebound when it counted, and Zeigler couldn’t hit the corner three. This heavyweight fight didn’t disappoint.

Tennessee will be back on Tuesday night as they continue to run the SEC gauntlet. Kentucky, fresh off of two straight losses, will come down to Knoxville.