No. 1 Auburn survives scare in showdown vs. No. 6 Tennessee, gets big win and star player Johni Broome back

No. 1 Auburn stayed perfect in SEC play and survived an upset bid on Saturday over No. 6 Tennessee with a 53-51 win at Neville Arena. Auburn star big man Johni Broome returned to the court after missing the last two games with an ankle injury and scored a game-high 16 points in his team’s seventh win over a ranked opponent this season.

Tennessee had an opportunity to win the game on the final possession, but star guard Zakai Zeigler missed a corner 3-pointer that would’ve put his team up with less than five seconds remaining. Broome secured the defensive rebound and tossed the ball beyond half court to run out the clock to help Auburn win its 11th consecutive game since suffering its lone loss to Duke last month in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Tennessee was seeking its first win over a No. 1 ranked team on the road since defeating Memphis during the 2007-08 season. The Volunteers dropped to 6-16 all-time against the top-ranked team in the country.

The Volunteers finished just 4 of 22 from beyond the arc, while Auburn shot 3 of 22 from distance. Miles Kelly knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night with 30 seconds left to give his team the lead back for good. Tennessee entered the weekend ranked No. 1 (25.9%) in 3-point percentage allowed as a team.

Auburn’s timely shot-making was the difference

Saturday’s game was a defensive slugfest. Neither team could buy a basket. That’s why Kelly knocking down a 3-pointer under the circumstances will go down as one of the biggest made shots of the season for the Tigers. The Georgia Tech transfer has seen his overall usage shrink since arriving at Auburn, but his overall impact is hard to contextualize. Kelly knocked down a 3-pointer when it mattered for Auburn against the top-ranked 3-point defense in the country. Shooting 3 of 20 from the 3-point line doesn’t look bad when you make ’em count.

Broome return was welcomed for the home team

Over the last two weeks, the odds to win the national player of the year odds have shifted in favor of Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Although the star freshman is having a fantastic season and might end up winning the award, Broome showed why he was the frontrunner for most of the season for NPOY. Broome finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and four blocks in the victory over Tennessee. Simply put: Auburn doesn’t win this game without him. His impact – and presence on defense — makes Auburn a surefire national title contender. Although Auburn defeated Mississippi State and Georgia without Broome in the lineup, his return solidifies Auburn as the clear favorite to win the SEC near the midway point.

The SEC gauntlet is real

Tennessee was the last unbeaten team in the sport less than three weeks ago. The Volunteers opened SEC play with a blowout win over Arkansas to improve to 14-0. Since that win, Tennessee is 3-3 with a 4-3 record in SEC play. The loss to Vanderbilt doesn’t look so bad after the Commanders defeated Kentucky earlier in the day at home. Neither does the losses to Florida or Auburn because those two teams will be ranked inside the top-five of the AP Top 25 poll next week. Tennessee can still contend for the SEC title, but losing games to Vanderbilt, Florida and now Auburn will put Rick Barnes’ squad in a position to play catchup the next six or so weeks until the regular season ends.