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ESPN’s matchup predictor has given No. 1 Auburn an excellent chance to stay undefeated in the SEC when it hosts No. 6 Tennessee in a Saturday night showdown on the Plains.
The Tigers (17-1), whose 1 loss this season came at Duke, which is now ranked No. 2, will look to improve to 6-0 in conference play despite the continued uncertain status of star forward Johni Broome. Auburn has been without Broome for the past 2 games because of a sprained ankle, yet the Tigers’ winning streak has reached 10 going into the primetime showdown against the Volunteers (17-2, 4-2 SEC).
That matchup predictor believes the Tigers’ win streak could very well get to 11, as it gives Auburn a robust 74% chance to take down Tennessee in the highly anticipated game that will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Interestingly, the matchup isn’t just between 2 of the SEC’s behemoths. It’s also a grudge match between 2 programs that Bruce Pearl has coached. Pearl, who’s coached at Auburn since 2014, was the head coach at Tennessee from 2005-11, so Saturday night’s showdown will really hit home with the 64-year-old Pearl.
Pearl went 145-61 as the Volunteers head coach, and he’s now building a dominant program on the Plains. On Saturday night, his 2 SEC coaching worlds will collide.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
