NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The fifth-seeded University of Tennessee men’s basketball team trailed No. 12-seeded Auburn by as many as 11 points, including by 10 with under 11 minutes to go, but used late a 20-0 run to come all the way back to register a 72-62 victory Thursday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
No. 25/RV Tennessee (22-10, 11-7 SEC) got a team-high 27 points, including 17 in those final 11 minutes, from freshman forward Nate Ament, in his return from a right leg injury, to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
After the Volunteers scored seven of the opening nine points, Auburn (17-16, 7-11 SEC) rattled off a 13-0 spurt in 3:17 to claim a 15-7 advantage with 13:36 on the timer. The surge reached 16-2 and the Tigers went ahead 18-9 with 11:47 left in the first frame, but Tennessee then forced eight misses in a row and got the margin down to three.
However, Auburn countered with 13 of the next 15 points to go up by a game-best 11, 29-18, with 3:12 to go before the intermission. The Volunteers trimmed the deficit to seven, 32-25, at the close of the half. Both sides shot under 38.0 percent overall and 36.0 percent from 3-point range in the initial 20 minutes, but the Tigers logged a 10-2 edge in second-chance points and a 7-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford started the second stanza with his fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon to stretch the Auburn lead back to 10. The Volunteers got within six on four occasions, but Auburn went twice back up by 10.
Tennessee then responded with 20 consecutive points, the first eight and three more of which came from Ament, in just 6:17 to go ahead by 10, 61-51, with 3:56 to play. The Volunteers held Auburn without a point for 6:36, as it missed seven consecutive shots and committed three turnovers.
The Tigers closed within five, 66-61, with 57 seconds to go, but Tennessee connected on all six of its free throws the rest of the way to ice the win, with the final differential tying its largest of the day.
In addition to his team-best point total, Ament paced the victors in rebounds (eight), assists (four) and blocks (three), the latter of which set a career best. The Second Team All-SEC designee added a steal, plus went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc to match his career high in makes.
Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 15 points, three assists and a game-best three steals in the win. Junior forward Jaylen Carey posted nine points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Pettiford led all scorers with 28 points, all but nine of which came in the opening 21 minutes. He shot 9-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-10 beyond the arc, but the Volunteers did claim five turnovers from him.
Senior forward Keyshawn Hall had 10 points for Auburn, but Tennessee held the Third Team All-SEC performer to 4-of-14 shooting, including a 1-of-6 tally from long range.
Overall, the Volunteers’ stingy defense limited the Tigers to 35.0 percent (21-of-60) shooting from the field, including to a 26.9 percent (7-of-26) ledger on 3-point attempts. They also amassed an 18-7 edge in bench points in the win.
Tennessee will be back in action Friday at 3 p.m. ET against No. 22 Vanderbilt, the tournament’s fourth seed, in a quarterfinal matchup at Bridgestone Arena, live on ESPN.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 858 victories in his career, again tying John Calipari for first place among all active Division I head coaches and for ninth-most all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers improved to 77-59 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 74-58 in regulation, 67-54 at neutral sites, 47-18 in openers and 14-8 under Barnes.
• Additionally, Tennessee now sports a 27-20 record in SEC Tournament games in its home state, including an 18-14 mark in Nashville and a 14-12 ledger at Bridgestone Arena.
• In total, the Volunteers are 22-15 at Bridgestone Arena, with that record featuring an 8-3 record outside of SEC Tournament action and a 1-1 figure in 2025-26.
• Tennessee moved to 84-46 in its all-time series versus Auburn, now sitting 38 games over the .500 mark, with that ledger including a 9-5 mark at neutral sites.
• The 84 victories over Auburn are the Volunteers’ fourth-most over any team, trailing just their mark against Vanderbilt (133), Georgia (101) and Mississippi State (92).
• The Volunteers improved to 6-2 in their last eight games—that dates to Feb. 26, 2022—versus Auburn, with both losses in that stretch on the road.
• Tennessee now owns a 11-4 record versus Auburn in the SEC Tournament, including a 4-2 count in Nashville and a 4-1 mark at Bridgestone Arena.
• The Volunteers have eliminated Auburn from the SEC Tournament each of the last two years, as fourth-seeded Tennessee beat the top-seeded Tigers, 70-65, in the 2025 semifinals.
• The 10-point margin of victory for Tennessee marked the largest figure for either side over the last nine series matchups, which have featured an average margin of 6.1 points per game.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 31 of 32 games this year, with 15-plus in 20 outings, 17-plus 12 times and 20-plus on six occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 28 of 32 contests, with 40-plus in 19, 42-plus in 17, 45-plus in 14 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 32 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 28 occasions, with 17-plus in 18 games, 20-plus in eight and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 32 games this season, Tennessee has played just three (2-1) that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side.
• Thursday marked the fourth time this season the Volunteers have come back from a double-digit deficit to win, including the first when trailing by 10-plus in the second half.
• The seven-point halftime deficit marked the largest margin the Volunteers have overcome to win in 2025-26.
• The 20-0 run for the Volunteers set a new season best for consecutive points scored in any game this season, eclipsing a 19-0 surge Nov. 12 against North Florida.
• After missing the last two-plus games with a right leg injury, Ament scored Tennessee’s opening five points of the afternoon on a dunk and a 3-pointer.
• The 27 points for Ament marked the fifth time this season has he reached that number, making him the 10th SEC freshman in the last 20 years (2006-26) to achieve that feat in a campaign.
• The other nine individuals on that list are Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. (seven in 2025-26), Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears (2024-25), Texas’ Tre Johnson (six in 2024-25), Alabama’s Brandon Miller (2022-23), LSU’s Cameron Thomas (nine in 2020-21), Georgia’s Anthony Edwards (2019-20), Alabama’s Collin Sexton (2017-18), LSU’s Tremont Waters (2017-18) and Kentucky’s Malik Monk (six in 2016-17).
• Ament registered three blocks in the first half alone, already breaking his career high—it was two, on four occasions—for a full game.
• The 4-of-6 long-range ledger for Ament matched his exact lines versus Rutgers (Nov. 24 in Las Vegas) and at Kentucky (Feb. 7) for his best figures of the season.
• Ament went 9-of-13 from the free-throw line in the win, his fifth time this year making at least nine free throws and his seventh time notching double-digit attempts.
• The 13 free-throw attempts for Ament also marked his second-most as a collegian, trailing only his 15 in the team’s over matchup with Auburn this season, Jan. 31 at Food City Center.
• Gillespie registered the 125th appearance, 100th start and the 100th double-digit scoring performance of his career.
