The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Auburn is favored by 5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -225. The total is set at 140.5 points.
Here’s my Tennessee vs. Auburn predictions and college basketball picks for March 15, 2025.
Tennessee vs Auburn Prediction
My Pick: Auburn -3.5
My Tennessee vs Auburn best bet is on the Tigers spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Tennessee vs Auburn Odds, Spread, Pick
| Tennessee Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | +185 |
| Auburn Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5 -110 | 140.5 -110o / -110u | -225 |
- Tennessee vs Auburn spread: Auburn -5
- Tennessee vs Auburn over/under: 140.5 points
- Tennessee vs Auburn moneyline: Auburn -225, Tennessee +185
- Tennessee vs Auburn best bet: Auburn -3.5 (Play to -4.5)
My Tennessee vs Auburn SEC Tournament Betting Preview
The Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers met once during the regular season, and it was a barnburner. Auburn snuck out with a low-scoring 53-51 win.
The Tigers oddly scored just 0.97 points per possession in their quarterfinal win over Ole Miss, which is shocking since the Rebels' defense is a turnstile. They did turn the ball over 15 times, though. Auburn doesn't turn the ball over much — just 13% of the time — so that's an outlier.
I do think it's worth noting that Johni Broome was clearly less than 100% and didn't even start in the first meeting between these two. You can credit Tennessee's defense, but Broome can score on anybody. He was just not fully back yet, and it showed.
Broome is back in full form now, and it'll make a difference. Tennessee doesn't have a ton of depth, so it'll be interesting to see if Broome can use his versatile skill set to draw fouls on bigs such as Felix Okpara, Igor Milicic Jr. or Cade Phillips.
The National Player of the Year candidate scored 23 points in the quarterfinal win over Ole Miss.
He'll need help from his guards — Denver Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara, Tahaad Pettiford and Miles Kelly — in this game. Jones was the only scorer with double-digit points against the Rebels, but just look at the Kentucky game: These guards can score.
I don't have trust in Tennessee's offense. The Vols' numbers aren't bad offensively, sitting at 18th in offensive efficiency. However, they play at the 346th-slowest tempo in the country and attempt 3s on 42% of their field goal attempts.
Plus, they shoot just 34% from downtown.
Chaz Lanier accounts for a lot of Tennessee's offensive success. Lanier shot below 33% from the field in three of Tennessee's last four losses. That's not a coincidence.
The Vols' defense is one of the best in America. They sit second in KenPom's defensive efficiency while holding teams to a 44% effective field goal percentage (lowest in the nation) and 27% from 3 (lowest in the nation).
I have one matchup angle I love for Auburn: Tennessee's lack of interior beef. The Vols rank just 183rd in defensive rebounding rate.
On the flip side, Auburn can take advantage on the glass with its 34% offensive rebound rate.
I see a larger gap between the two teams than just 3.5 points. I've often looked to fade the Vols throughout the year and will do so again here.
Tennessee's offense is hard to trust, and Auburn is the best offensive team in the sport.
