Tennessee vs Auburn Basketball Prediction, Odds & Picks

Last Update: Sat Mar 04, 2023, 11:41 am ET

Read Time: 4 minutes

Broome is an All American candidate this year

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Things haven't gone so well for Auburn as of late, but the Tigers can end the regular season on a positive note with a home win over #12 Tennessee (2:00 pm ET, ESPN).

The Tigers (19-11, 9-8 SEC) have lost eight of their last 11 games and a loss today and a quick exit from the SEC Tournament will leave them with a nervous wait on Selection Sunday.

However, a win over the Vols (22-8, 11-6 SEC) will all but lock up a place in the March Madness field.

Will the Tigers be breathing a lot easier later today? Read on for our Tennessee vs Auburn basketball prediction, as well as our picks for this afternoon's matchup at Neville Arena.

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Tennessee vs Auburn Odds

Odds for Tennessee vs Auburn are via BetOnline as of Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Spread

Tennessee +1.5 (-102)
Auburn -1.5 (-120)

Over/Under

Over 129.5 (-115)
Under 129.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Tennessee +108
Auburn -130

Shorthanded Vols Set to Struggle Again on the Road?

In Tuesday night, Tennessee recorded an impressive 75-57 win over Arkansas, but they suffered a major loss with guard Zakai Ziegler going down for the season with a torn ACL.

Ziegler was averaging 10.7 PPG and a team-leading 5.4 APG, and he was also an impact player on the defensive end, averaging 2.0 steals per game.

Ziegler's injury carries major implications for Tennessee's hopes to make a deep March Madness run, and it also makes it all the more likely that the Vols will find the going tough on the Plains this afternoon, considering how they have fared on the road recently.

The Vols won their first four road games in SEC play over Ole Miss, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and LSU. But they have countered that with losses in their last four road trips, falling at Florida, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.

Tennessee scored 70+ points three times in those four road wins, but their highest output in the four losses is 65 points at Vanderbilt.

Overall, things haven't gone all that well since a win over Texas on January 28. Since that win over the Longhorns, the Vols have lost five of nine games. The struggles with scoring consistently have been key to that, and they have also been key to the under going 6-2-1 in that stretch.

Tennessee vs Auburn Prediction and Picks

Vols vs Tigers Prediction: Auburn to win

Vols vs Tigers Picks: Auburn to cover (Best Value: BetOnline) & Tennessee/Auburn under (Best Value: BetMGM)

When these two teams met in Knoxville on February 4, the two teams combined to shoot 10.4% (5 of 48) from three and 25.4% (30 of 118) from the field overall in a 46-43 Vols win.

The rematch is unlikely to be as putrid of an offensive display–one can only hope–but I feel confident in the under and a home win for Auburn.

While the Tigers finished only 3-6 SU on the road in SEC play, they are 6-2 SU at home with losses to Alabama & Texas A&M, who are first and second in the conference standings.

Auburn wasn't able to pull out the win at Alabama after having a big lead, but it was a very, very encouraging performance after being throttled at Kentucky last Saturday. I think they will be able to handle the shorthanded Vols to lock up their spot in the NCAA Tournament.