Scouting report: What to know about Tennessee basketball

In one of the biggest games across the entire SEC conference, the world will be tuned in on No. 1 Auburn hosting No. 6 Tennessee Saturday night.

After surviving on the road at then No. 23 Georgia, the Volunteers will be a tougher task with Tigers still playing without Johni Broome.

Sitting at 17-1 overall and 5-0 in SEC play, Auburn is the only school in the SEC still undefeated in conference play.

Here’s a closer look at Tennessee as they look to end the Tigers streak:

The season so far

Tennesse enters this game with a 17-2 record, dropping two conference games to Florida and Vanderbilt.

Peaking all the way to the No. 1 spot in the AP poll early in the season, the Volunteers best victories come against the then No. 13 Baylor, No. 23 Arkansas and No. 14 Mississippi State.

Tennesse also survived No. 17 Illinois 66-64 in a non- conference road game. The Volunteers sit sixth in KenPom’s efficiency rankings, trailing just three spots the behind the Tigers.

Players to watch

Transfer guard Chaz Lanier has put together a case for National Player of the year, averaging 18.4 points. Lanier is shooting 41.6% from the floor and 42% from 3-point territory.

“He’s made big shots; he’s made contested shots, and he can shoot it from three. He’s got a midrange game. You’re going to play for Coach Barnes, he’s improved his defense,” Pearl said Thursday when previewing Tennessee. “He is a definite guy that can win games for him. They need him to shoot the ball well and shoot a good percentage.”

Zakai Zeigler continues to etch his name in Tennessee history averaging 12.6 points and a team-high 7.6 assists. His defense has also been outstanding adding 2.1 steals to his season stats.

“That’s the head of the snake for them. Especially Zakai he’s their main offense, their main defense, their main everything, I feel like. Great defensively,” Auburn guard Denver Jones told reporters Friday. “Sometimes he presses by himself, so that’s something we have to keep in our mind. I feel like shutting down them two is really the key to winning this game.”

The frontcourt duo of Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara both average over 10 points a game for the Vols. Okpara leads with 1.7 blocks a game and Milicic is the teams rebounds leader averaging 8.4 on the year.

Key to the game

Starting strong on offense

Tennesse only allows 58.6 points per game from its opponents. However, Auburn is ranked 10th in the country averaging 85.7 points per game.

If the Tigers can be the aggressor first on offense like they did in previous conference matchups against Missouri, Texas and Mississippi State; It will be a long evening for the Volunteers.

Despite being short in the frontcourt, Auburn will continue to lean on Dylan Cardwell, Chaney Johnson and the emerging Jaheim Hudson if Broome is not available.

“I don’t think you necessarily need to beat Tennessee on the boards, you just can’t let them beat you on the boards.” Pearl said.

Auburn’s matchup with Tennessee Saturday night is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. and will be streaming live on ESPN.