Auburn uses 18-0 second-half run to come back to beat Tennessee
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Things were looking bleak for the Auburn Tigers against Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
Tennessee led 54-37 with 14:35 left in the second half, but that’s when the Tigers (ranked No. 13 in the country) mounted their comeback. Auburn scored 18 straight points to take a 55-54 lead with 8:06 remaining.
From there, it was a back-and-forth game, but Auburn managed to hold on for a 73-66 victory. It was the Tigers’ first victory in 3 games without star freshman Isaac Okoro.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 23-4 overall and 10-4 in SEC action. Samir Doughty was the only Auburn player to score more than 9 points, dropping in 22 points to lead the team.
Tennessee’s slim NCAA Tournament hopes took a huge hit, as the Vols really needed a win over the No. 13 Tigers to bolster their resume. Now, they’re 15-12 overall and 7-7 in SEC play.
There is some good news for Tennessee fans, though. Jordan Bowden, who has been struggling all year long, scored a career-high 28 points. He made 9 of his 12 field-goal attempts and also dished out 6 assists. Oh, and he threw down this dunk:
THAT
WAS
VICIOUS pic.twitter.com/McmmkU9dDy— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 22, 2020
Auburn freshman Jaylin Williams had the dunk of the game, though, throwing down this alley-oop off a pass from himself:
Just wait for the noise…
18 UNANSWERED BY AUBURN. pic.twitter.com/huCD1QKWRd— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 22, 2020
Auburn hosts Ole Miss on Tuesday before a showdown at Kentucky next Saturday. That game could play a huge part in deciding the SEC regular-season title.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
