Tennessee erased a 10-point deficit with 10:36 remaining and rallied past Auburn 72-62 in the SEC Tournament.
A defensive adjustment on Tahaad Pettiford sparked a 20-0 run, while Ja’Kobe Gillespie battled through early foul trouble to help lead the comeback.
Here are three takeaways from Tennessee’s win to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Pettiford Pops Before Tennessee Tweaks
Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford came into the matchup with added motivation. After the game at Food City Center on Jan. 31, Auburn head coach Steven Pearl referred to Jaylen Carey and DeWayne Brown as a pair of defensive ends because of their physical style of play, a comment that sparked a reaction from Tennessee. Pettiford later said the tougher team would win this time around. He backed that up early against the Vols.
Pettiford finished with 28 points, including 16 in the first half. He found most of his success using screens to create space, whether Tennessee switched or played drop coverage. Auburn repeatedly set screens for him in order to force those matchups and create chances for him to attack.
With 5:40 left in the first half, Pettiford used a dribble handoff to get J.P. Estrella switched onto him. From the top of the key, he calmly rose and knocked down the jumper. A couple of minutes later, he used another screen to force a switch. This time, he attacked Nate Ament off the dribble before drilling a fading jumper near the right elbow.
By that point, Pettiford had found his rhythm. He capped his first-half surge by banking in a three-pointer over Felix Okpara. That heater carried into the second half when he hit another triple on a broken play for the first bucket after halftime.
Eventually, Tennessee adjusted. The Vols stopped playing drop coverage as often and began hedging ball screens, while their guards fought harder to get around picks. Pettiford finished 9-for-18 from the field, and the defensive shift helped Tennessee hold Auburn to 11 points over the final 10:25 of the game.
Gillespie Fights Through Fouls
Rick Barnes made it clear that Ja’Kobe Gillespie had to be smarter. The senior point guard picked up two fouls less than four minutes into the game, a development that changed Tennessee’s rotation and put added pressure on the rest of the backcourt.
Barnes had to sit Tennessee’s primary ball handler, a major blow to the Vols’ half-court offense. Tennessee ranks 351st nationally in first-half two-foul participation, and Gillespie’s early foul trouble immediately tested Tennessee’s ability to stay organized.
Gillespie sat for only 3 minutes and 46 seconds, but Auburn took advantage of the stretch. The Tigers went on a 13-0 run while Tennessee went nearly five minutes without scoring.
Tennessee’s offense struggled to find its usual inside-out rhythm with Ethan Burg and Bishop Boswell handling point guard duties. Gillespie did not fully settle in until Tennessee’s late comeback, but he still delivered when the Vols needed him most. He finished 5-for-11 from the field with 15 points.
Defense Drives Comeback
Everything changed when Tennessee trailed by 10 with 10:26 left. The Vols tightened up defensively, especially against Pettiford, and that shift gave their offense the spark it had been missing.
Tennessee avoided switches more often, and its guards fought through screens instead of conceding space. Pettiford no longer found the clean looks he got earlier in the game, and the pressure helped disrupt Auburn’s rhythm. At one point, the Vols forced a shot clock violation after Pettiford missed a contested three.
Nate Ament helped ignite the comeback. The run started when the freshman beat the zone on a well-designed set, flashing into the middle of the lane. Felix Okpara sealed his defender, leading to an easy layup. Ament later knocked down a corner three that pulled Tennessee within two and finished with a game-high 27 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
The rest of the offense followed. Tennessee ripped off a 20-0 run, completely flipping the game after trailing by double digits with just over 10 minutes to play.
That surge sent the Vols to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals where they will face Vanderbilt for the second time in less than a week.
