Tennessee vs Auburn Odds Picks & Predictions for SEC Semifinal

• The #3 Auburn Tigers are 4-point favorites over the #8 Tennessee Volunteers in Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal
• Tennessee lost to then #1 Auburn this year by a 53-51 score
• See the Tennessee vs Auburn odds, player props, and predictions for March 15

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A couple of heavy hitters square off Saturday in the SEC Tournament, vying for a place in the championship final, when the top-seeded Auburn Tigers (28-4, 15-3 SEC) take on the 3rd-seeded Tennessee Volunteers (26-6, 12-6 SEC).

Auburn staggered into the tournament with back-to-back losses to #22 Texas A&M and #7 Alabama, but they righted the ship with a close win over Ole Miss. The Volunteers, meanwhile, dusted Texas by 11 to set up Saturday’s showdown. The Tigers enter as the betting favorites when action tips off at 1pm ET from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN, with ESPN providing the coverage. Check below for my Tennessee vs Auburn best bet.

Tennessee vs Auburn Odds

The Volunteers have been tabbed as a 4-point underdog in the college basketball odds, and +150 on the moneyline. Auburn is only a -180 favorite on the moneyline, and the total comes in at 138.5 points, though the Over has cashed in two of the last three head-to-head matchups.

Odds as of March 15 at DraftKings. See the full list of DraftKings legal states.

There are no soft landings in the SEC. Overall, Auburn is 7-3 in its last 10, but they are just 4-6-0 against the spread. Even with a win over Ole Miss, Auburn failed to cover as heavy 13-point favorites. They’ve been the betting favorite in each of their last six games, and the Tigers have failed to cover three straight, going 2-4-0 ATS.

The Volunteers haven’t been much of a bettors delight either. They’ve gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, but they have failed to cover the spread in four of their last five, all as the betting favorite. They are just 3-7-0 ATS in the last 10.

That hasn’t sullied either team’s March Madness odds, though: Auburn is still tied with Duke for the best odds of cutting the nets down in the NCAA Tournament at +375 odds, with Tennessee hanging in eighth spot with a nice +2000 payout should they go all the way.

TENN vs AUB Player Props

Tennessee vs Auburn player props from bet365 on Mar 15. Claim the current bet365 bonus code to get a bonus for Saturday’s NCAAM slate.

Auburn’s Johni Broone has both the highest scoring and rebounding prop in this game at 19.5 points and 9.5 boards. He had 23 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Ole Miss. He has topped his scoring line four times in the last six, but he has had double digit rebounds just once in his last five outings.

Chaz Lanier holds Tennessee’s highest scoring total at 15.5 points, followed closely by teammate Zakai Zeigler at 14.5. Lanier has scored 23 points in back-to-back games, and he’s scored at least 16 points in five of his last seven outings.

Zeigler shook off a pair of rough single-digit scoring games to tally 19 against Texas — he’s gone for at least 15 points in eight of his last 10 games.

Tennessee vs Auburn Prediction

More likely than not, Auburn’s body of work has them locked into a top seed for the NCAA Tournament, but it would be nice to get into the tournament with a win that makes them feel good about themselves.

Tennessee presents that opportunity – but a poor showing could play tricks on their psyche as they enter the dance.

The Volunteers bring the top scoring defense into the SEC semi, holding opponents to just 62.3 points per game, and an NCAA best 37.9% shooting from the field. They’re also stingy defending the arc, with schools shooting just 27.6% from distance, the second-best rate in college basketball.

Auburn’s offense is more polished, ranking 23rd in field goal shooting at 48.4% and they’re inside the Top 40 in 3-point shooting, hitting at a crisp 37% clip.

The Tigers’ defense is also formidable, limiting teams to 29.3% shooting from 3-point range, the 11th-best rate in the nation, and they’re Top 40 in field goal shooting defense too, at 40.9%.

The only time these teams played was that rockfight of an Auburn win on January 25, and the Tigers matched Tennessee on the defensive side of the court in a 53-51 win.

Auburn shot just 3-for-20 from distance and 30.5 % from the field overall, but they did the same to the Volunteers, holding them to 31.5% from the field and an inept 4-for-22 from 3-point range.

You had to go to the margins to find the difference, and Auburn won the rebounding battle, 42-37, including a +6 advantage on the offensive glass. That’s how thin this matchup was.

Tennessee was 13th in the SEC in scoring at 74.8 points per game, but during this streak of six wins in the last seven, they have scored at least 75 points in six of them, averaging 78.5 points.

Is that enough to keep up with Auburn, who averaged 84.4 points per game on the season? They’ve topped that total once in the last three games, and needed OT against Alabama to do that.

It’s been a tough stretch for the Tigers, who will play their fourth ranked opponent in the last five games. I think it has them battled tested – at least enough to get them to the SEC Championship final.

• Tennessee vs Auburn Pick: Auburn -4 (-110)