KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Auburn's Jabari Smith and K.D. Johnson combined for 45 points Saturday, but it wasn't enough as the third-ranked Tigers picked up just their fourth loss of the season – a 67-62 road loss at No. 17 Tennessee.
"Disappointed," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. "We played hard, our defense was pretty good – we turned them over, scored off turnovers.
"We need more guys to step up offensively. Obviously, we had a good night from K.D. and a good night from Jabari, but we've got more step up in us."
Smith led all scorers with a game-high 28 points and his four-point play with just under a minute to go capped a 7-0 Auburn run and cut the lead to 3. The Volunteers responded with a basket on the other end to extend the lead and put the game out of reach.
"When I hit the 3, the And-1, it put us down by three and it was a one-possession game, so all I was thinking about was getting that one stop," Smith said. "Kennedy Chandler ended up making a tough shot, putting it back to two possessions."
For Smith, it was his 24th game in double digits this season and his 11th 20-point outing. The freshman has now scored 20 or more points in four of Auburn's last six games and is averaging 21.8 points per game in the stretch. On Saturday, he was 9 of 21 from the field, made three 3-pointers, and also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
Johnson poured in 18 points against Tennessee, shooting 7 of 13 from the field. It was the sophomore's highest point total since scoring 20 points at Georgia on Feb. 5.
After falling behind early, Auburn used a 13-0 run late in the first half to pull ahead. Allen Flanigan had back-to-back baskets, and then it was Johnson who capped the run with a 3 from the top of the key, putting the Tigers up 26-19.
In the closing seconds of the first half, Smith hit a step-back 3-pointer to give Auburn a 31-25 advantage going into the break.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the second half where they scored nine of the first 12 points to make it 39-28 – their largest lead of the game – but they scored just two points over the next nine minutes as Tennessee rallied back to take a 45-41 lead.
Sophomore Walker Kessler, who set the Auburn single-season blocks record his last time out, finished with eight points, five rebounds and four blocks against the Vols.
The Tigers forced 18 turnovers and held Tennessee to 33 percent shooting from the field but couldn't overcome their own offensive struggles and were outrebounded, 51-30.
"No excuses on the rebounding," Pearl said. "We talked before the game that the team that played more physically and with greater effort and energy would win the game. They were quicker to the ball than we were, and that was a real problem for us chasing those 50-50 balls."
Despite the loss, Auburn (25-4, 13-3) still controls its own destiny in the SEC with Kentucky losing to Arkansas on Saturday. The Tigers are 13-3 in the league, one game ahead of Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee with two games remaining.
"We still got a chance to win championship," Smith said. "So, we're just trying to move on to the next game and focus on winning these next two."
Auburn can clinch a share of the regular season title at Mississippi State on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
