Auburn (21-6) at Tennessee (21-6)
When: Wednesday, February 28th, 2024
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena,
Knoxville, TN
Time: 7:00 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Tennessee -5.5/150.5
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We have another monster matchup Wednesday night in the crowded SEC when No. 11 Auburn visits No. 4 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Entering Tuesday’s action, the Volunteers are tied with Alabama at 11-3 for first place in the conference standings with the Tigers just one game back and tied with South Carolina. With only 10 days left in the regular season, the SEC regular season title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament is up for grabs. Tennessee, which is 13-1 at home this season, are 6.5-point favorites with a total of 150.5.
The Vols have their highest ranking of the season after winning 10 of their last 12 games including a 86-51 blowout win at home over Texas A&M on Saturday. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now has 800 victories after that win over the Gamecocks. Auburn also comes in hot, winning five of their last seven to stay in contention for the title. The Tigers tuned up for this contest with a 97-76 win over Georgia on Saturday.
This is the first and only meeting between these two teams this season. Last year in Knoxville, the Vols pulled out an ugly 46-43 victory before Auburn got revenge at home on March 4, 2023 with a 79-70 triumph. The Tigers are an impressive 8-1 ATS in the last nine meetings and the Over is 8-2 in the last 10.
RECENT TRENDS
Tigers are 7-0-1 ATS in their last 8 Wed. games.
Tigers are 15-5-2 ATS in their last 22 games overall.
Under is 8-3 in Auburn’s last 11 road games.
Volunteers are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games.
Tigers are 8-1 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
Over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings.
AUBURN TIGERS
Auburn cruised past Georgia on Saturday despite the absence of starting forward Jaylin Williams, who was sidelined because of a knee injury. Williams’ is questionable for Wednesday against Tennessee. Williams is averaging 13.0 points and 4.7 rebounds this season, while shooting 58.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. Chad Baker-Mazara stepped in on Saturday and delivered a season-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. Auburn will host Mississippi State on Saturday.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Dalton Knecht, who is averaging 20.1 points a game to go with 5.0 rebounds had 24 points and seven boards on Saturday. Jonas Aidoo (12.0 ppg) added 18 points, while Zakai Zeigler (10.9) dished out 14 assists and Josiah-Jordan James is averaging 9.0 points per contest. Tennessee has a solid defense, allowing just 66.6 points a game and rank second in the country at field-goal percentage defense (38.0 percent). The road doesn’t get any easier for Tennessee after Wednesday. They finish the season with Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky.
PREDICTION
Both teams are playing well, but Auburn has been on a roll when it comes to cashing tickets. They are 17-8-2 ATS on the season, 15-5-2 over the last 22 and 8-1 ATS in the last nine meetings with Tennessee. I’ll take the points.
