Tennessee booted Auburn from the conference tournament and may have ended its season.
After they picked up a convincing win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon, the Auburn Tigers appeared to have a chance to drastically improve their spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
All Auburn (17-16, 7-11 SEC) had to do was find a way to win against the Tennessee Volunteers (22-10, 11-7 SEC).
When the final buzzer sounded and the game came to an end inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Thursday afternoon, the Volunteers had come out on top 72-62.
Auburn was in control for the majority of the first half, and it even led by as many as 11 points with just over a minute left on the clock until the teams would return to the locker room for halftime.
Auburn was able to keep its lead intact for the first half of the second half, leading 51-41 with 10:26 left to play.
That's when the momentum shifted, however. Tennessee went on a 20-point run, and when it came to an end, the Tigers trailed 61-51 with 3:56 remaining in the second-round contest.
Auburn never trimmed Tennessee's lead down to less than five points after that point, however, leading to their exit from Nashville being brought on by the Volunteers for the second year in a row.
Tahaad Pettiford played a significant role in the Tigers' success during the contest. Hed led them in scoring with 28 points, shot 9-of-18 from the field, 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Keyshawn Hall was Auburn's second-highest scorer, but he finished the game with 10 points to his name.
Now that they’ve been sent home from the SEC Tournament, all the Tigers can do at this point is sit and wait for Selection Sunday. ESPN will broadcast the coverage beginning at 6 p.m.