Vols’ post play, ‘D’ decisive vs. Auburn
Tennessee's home-court advantage trumped Bruce Pearl's homecoming Saturday at Thompson-boling Arena as the Vols continued their February surge with a 67-62 victory over No. 4 ranked Auburn.
The Vols pushed their season record to 15-0 on a court Pearl once called home. They also ended a six-game losing streak to their former coach.
The nature of the victory was almost as significant as the victory itself.
Most pregame analyses would have given No. 17 UT (21-7, 12-4 SEC) an edge at guard, and Auburn (25-4, 13-3) a substantial advantage in the post. But UT coach Rick Barnes effectively rotated four post players to contend with Auburn's 7-foot-1 star center Walker Kessler and 6-10 forward Jabari Smith, who could be the first player taken in the NBA Draft.
UT'S collective effort in the post helped it to an early 18-11 lead. At one point, Tennessee had a 10-2 advantage in offensive rebounding. The Vols needed more than a fast start, though. They needed an even stronger finish to overcome a 39-28 second-half deficit.
Their defense triggered the winning surge against Auburn, which has been at its worse when it becomes careless with the ball and forces questionable shots. Tennessee capitalized on both shortcomings down the stretch.
Post patrol
Tennessee's early aggressiveness in the post clearly threw Auburn off its game. The final stats reflected how well UT'S post players performed.
Uros Plavsic had six points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brandon-huntley Hatfield had five points and six rebounds. Jonas Aidoo, another freshman, didn't score but had five rebounds and played effective defense against Kessler early in the game. John Fulkerson had five points and nine rebounds.
Rebounding was where they most asserted themselves. The Vols outrebounded the Tigers 54-30.
Not so hot
Auburn runs hot and cold on 3-pointers, and it was cold as could be against UT. The Tigers missed 19 of 24.
Guard Wendell Green was the worst offender. A streaky shooter, Green couldn't resist launching shots even when they weren't falling.
He made only 1-of-7 3-point tries and wasn't any better from closer range. He was 2-for-15 from the field.
Vols' hot February
Tennessee fans can hope that a great February will lead to a great March in postseason play.
The Vols are 7-1 and on pace for their best February of Barnes' seven seasons. The Vols were 8-3 in February in 2018-19, and 7-2 in 2019-20.
If they can win at home against Arkansas next Saturday and on the road at Georgia on Tuesday, they would finish the month 9-1. That would distinguish them as the conference's hottest team entering the SEC Tournament and enhance their chances for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In Barnes' three postseason ventures at UT, his teams have lost in the first and second round, but advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2018-19. Barnes' last six NCAA Tournament teams at Texas failed to advance beyond the second round.
Hotter at home
No matter what the month, Tennessee has been hot at home. This wouldn't be Barnes' first unbeaten season at Thompson-boling, though. His 2018-19 Vols were 18-0.
UT'S last home loss was last February against Kentucky.