NASHVILLE – Tennessee basketball opened the SEC Tournament on a positive note.
With a win over Auburn, the No. 5 seed Vols (22-10) advanced to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 Vanderbilt (24-7) at Bridgestone Arena on March 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Here’s what to know heading into the third meeting this season in the in-state rivalry:
For 30 minutes, Tennessee couldn’t do anything against No. 12 seed Auburn (17-16). The Tigers, led by guard Tahaad Pettiford, clamped down on the Vols offense and even won the rebounding battle. Tennessee had 25 first-half points, 10 of which were supplied by Nate Ament.
In the final 10 minutes, Ament, returning from his two-game absence with an ankle injury, kicked the offense into gear. He led the charge on a 20-0 run that overwhelmed Auburn and even led to a technical foul on coach Steven Pearl.
Ament finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal in his first game back since Feb. 28 against Alabama. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 15 points, three assists and three steals.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt split their home-and-home in the regular season, and the winning team won by four points in both contests.
The Vols inched past the Commodores, 69-65, at Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 21. Bishop Boswell and Ament made clutch shots in the closing minutes. Vanderbilt didn’t score a field goal in the final 2:23.
In the regular season finale, though, Vanderbilt got revenge 86-82. Tyler Tanner kept Amari Evans and the surging Vols at bay with 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Evans’ career-high 24-point performance kept Tennessee in the game, but the Vols couldn’t string enough stops together to grab the lead.
Tennessee 70, Vanderbilt 68: Ament was the missing piece for Tennessee in its last game against Vanderbilt. He missed two games with an injury, but looked like he was back mid-season form against Auburn. The Vols will likely need another stellar performance from the freshman in another nail-biting showdown to advance to the semifinals against the winner of No. 1 Florida and No. 9 Kentucky on March 14 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
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