The No. 25 Tennessee men's basketball team (21-10, 11-7) is set to continue the 2025-26 slate Thursday, as it takes on the Auburn Tigers (17-15, 7-11) in the second round of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. ET.
UT led wire-to-wire in the regular season meeting, a 77-69 home win. Nate Ament had a game-high 22 points and was one of four Vols with eight rebounds. The freshman is expected to be available after missing two games with an ankle injury.
In last year's SEC Tournament, the fourth-seeded Volunteers beat top-seeded Auburn, 70-65, in the semifinals behind 20 points from Zakai Zeigler. UT is 10-4 versus Auburn in the SEC Tournament, including 3-2 in Nashville (3-1 at Bridgestone). Tennessee is 5-2 in its last seven meetings—both setbacks were on the road—with the Tigers, after dropping six in a row before that.
Auburn coach Steven Pearl, son of former Tennessee and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, was a UT teammate of Vol Network radio analyst Chris Lofton from 2006-08. Pearl redshirted the first season.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie is the only Vol to start every game this year and his next such nod will be the 100th of his career. His next double-digit scoring total will also be his 100th. With a 45.3 offensive rebounding percentage, UT is on pace to post, per KenPom, the co-second-best mark this century. It trails only 2000-01 Michigan State (47.0), plus ties 2000-01 Georgetown.