Auburn boosts tournament hopes, wins 79-70 over No. 12 Vols

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Wendell Green Jr. scored 24 points to help Auburn boost its NCAA Tournament prospects with a 79-70 victory over No. 12 Tennessee on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

The Tigers (20-11, 10-8 Southeastern Conference), who had lost eight of their last 11 games, rebounded from an overtime loss at No. 2 Alabama with their biggest win of the season.

Playing their first full game without SEC assist leader Zakai Zeigler, out for the season with a torn left ACL, the Volunteers (23-8, 12-6) lost their fifth straight road game.

Auburn got back to back three-point plays to pull away late with both Flanigan and Green making layups, drawing fouls and hitting free throws. Green’s finish gave Auburn its biggest lead of the game to that point, 72-64, with 1:37 left and capped a 12-1 run.

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The Volunteers missed their last seven shots and didn’t make one over the final six minutes.

Green scored just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting in the previous meeting, a 46-43 Tennessee game. He matched that over the final 1:37 of this game.

Johni Broome had 17 points and seven rebounds, while the 6-foot-10 forward also hit his seventh and eighth 3-pointers of the season. Flanigan had 16 points and Jaylin Williams added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists after both were among the seniors honored before the home finale.

Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee with 21 points and had four assists in helping fill the void left by Zeigler. He made 5 of 9 3-pointers.

Tyreke Key scored 13 points while Josiah Jordan-James and Julian Phillips each had 10.

Auburn only hit two baskets in the final 4-plus minutes of the opening half but both were 3s from Green. The second snapped a 7-0 Vols run at the buzzer to cut the halftime margin to 34-30.

Green scored all nine of his first-half points over the final 5:54.

BIG PICTURE

Tennessee: Continues its struggles on the road and has lost its last four games at Neville Arena. The Vols out rebounded Auburn 35-29.

Auburn: The Tigers are 1-3 against ranked teams. They reached 20 wins for the fifth time in six season. They committed only six turnovers.

UP NEXT

Tennessee and Auburn both head to the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.