Saturday will mark the final regular season game for the Vols in the 2018-19 basketball season, and there’s a title on the line. Just like last year.
No. 5 Tennessee (27-3, 15-2 SEC) travels down to Alabama to take on Auburn (21-9, 10-7 SEC) in the last game of the regular season for both schools. The two teams haven’t played each other since the second game of the SEC schedule last year on January 2nd.
Saturday’s game will be the 118th time the two teams have played each other in basketball, and it will be the seventh time the Vols have faced former head coach Bruce Pearl as the head man of the Tigers. Tennessee leads the all-time series 78-39 against the Tigers and are 4-2 against Pearl. The Vols have won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the two programs, including four of the last five games played in Auburn.
This year’s Auburn squad is one of the more dangerous home teams in the conference. The Vols finished the regular season undefeated at home, but the Tigers aren’t too far behind them. Auburn is 14-2 at home this season, and their two losses have come by a combined seven points (two-point loss to Kentucky, five-point loss to Ole Miss).
All three of Tennessee’s losses this season have been away from home, but they’ve also come against top-15 opponents in Kansas, Kentucky, and LSU.
If Tennessee wins against Auburn, they’ll be guaranteed at least a share of the SEC regular season title for the second-straight season. The Vols have never won back-to-back regular season conference titles in school history. A win for Auburn, meanwhile, would give them an excellent chance at getting the No. 4 seed and the final double-bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
The Tigers are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and the Vols are one of the best overall shooting teams in college basketball. Both teams can also play good defense, so expect Saturday’s game to be full of high-quality action.
Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s game, and here are our score predictions for the game. If you can’t make it to down to Auburn, here’s how you can watch and listen to the Tennessee vs. Auburn regular season finale.
Tip-Off: Noon Eastern, March 9th, Auburn Arena (Auburn, AL)
TV: ESPN
Streaming Online: WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app
Radio: Vol Network (99.1 FM or 990 AM in Knoxville/surrounding areas)
Line: Tennessee (-1.5)
