It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. In March, that’s all that matters. Tennessee jumped on a hapless Auburn team early, but the Tigers came roaring back and led 35-32 at the half. Auburn led 60-59 until a McBee 3 gave the Vols a 62-60 lead with 9:16 to play. The Tigers never recovered, and Tennessee led the remainder of the game en route to the 82-75 victory. While the win won’t do much for Tennessee’s RPI ranking (it’s stable at 56th), a loss would have ended UT’s hopes for an at-large NCAA bid. The Vols will get a chance to improve their tournament standing when they host Missouri Saturday (RPI 29th).

Stokes made just 1 of his 10 free throw attempts.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Offense: After struggling to score in a loss at Georgia, the Vols rebounded with an improved offensive effort at Auburn. Tennessee shot 43% for the game, and saw three players score in double-figures. Trae Golden bounced back from a horrible effort at Georgia (4 points on 1-10 shooting) with 21 points and six assists. He was 6-12 from the floor, and single-handidly kept the Vols in the game when Auburn made a run in the second half.

Jordan McRae added 21 points on a night when his shot really wasn’t falling (6-15 from the floor, 2-6 from 3). He found ways to score, and was 9-11 from the free throw line. Though his lethal development as a scorer gets most of the attention, McRae has shown the capability to help his team even when his shot isn’t falling. In the win over Auburn, he recorded seven rebounds and three assists, and came up with several big defensive plays in key moments. He will be in the running for SEC Player of the Year honors as the season winds down.

As he has done in 10 of the last 14 games, Jarnell Stokes grabbed a double-double. The talented forward scored 11 points (on 5-10 shooting) and pulled down 12 rebounds, but went just 1-10 from the charity stripe. Stokes said after the game he plans on hitting the gym and making 100 free throws before he sleeps, and he’ll have to improve from the line if the Vols are to keep winning.

Josh Richardson scored nine points, Hall eight, Moore seven, and McBee five to round out the scoring for Tennessee.

Defense: This was a poor defensive effort from the Vols and they were fortunate to pick up the win. Auburn shot 51% for the game, and Tennessee couldn’t stay in front of the speedy Tiger guards. Frankie Sullivan scored 24 points while Josh Wallace added 14 points. The Vols will have to play much better perimeter defense if they hope to play late into March. In the paint, Tennessee’s big men did a good job of keeping the Tigers off the offensive glass.

Final Take: The Vols took care of business and avoided a devastating loss. They’ve now won four road games this season and seven of their last eight games overall.

Up Next: Tennessee hosts Missouri in their final game of the regular season, Saturday at 4 p.m. TV: ESPN or ESPN2.