AUBURN – As Rick Barnes sat for his postgame press conference in Neville Arena, his demeanor wasn’t that of a coach who was disappointed. In fact, it was hard to tell if Barnes was speaking of a win or a loss on Saturday night.

He said he was proud of his team’s effort, coming one possession short in No. 6 Tennessee’s 53-51 loss to No. 1 Auburn. The game featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes. The physical matchups left both teams battered and drew comparisons to everything from boxing matches to football games to rock fights. “It was a high-level game,” Barnes said. “Both teams, I thought, played extremely hard both ways and really not much to be had easily on the offensive end. But proud of our guys. I thought they fought all night long. And we went through just a couple minutes where we didn’t quite stick to the details and gave them a few baskets that we wouldn’t want to give them. But (Auburn) did it. They executed and we didn’t.”

His counterpart voiced the same sentiments. “Our guys really respected that team, even after the game,” head coach Bruce Pearl said. “They knew they had a great win because they beat a great team. Those guys don’t take possessions off defensively. Catches were difficult. Shots were contested. They turned us over 11 times. They were all forced. I’m sure that wasn’t a very pretty game on national television because it was so difficult to score.”

Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) has sat atop the AP rankings due largely to its an elite offense, which ranks No. 1 in adjusted efficiency per KenPom. On Saturday, the Tigers leaned on their defense, holding the Vols (17-4, 4-3 SEC) to 31 percent shooting from the field and 18 percent from beyond the arc. That kept Auburn in the game while its offense squandered.

Then when the Tigers needed a shot, 6-foot-6 senior guard Miles Kelly nailed a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining that was just enough to give the Tigers a win. It was Auburn’s third three-pointer of the night in 20 attempts. Tennessee was 4 for 22. The return of Tigers senior forward Johni Broome, who finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and four blocks in 33 minutes while still nursing a bum ankle that caused him to sit out the previous two games, proved to be decisive. The Tigers also got good nights from 6-foot-7 senior forward Chaney Johnson and 6-foot-1 freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who added 10 and eight points, respectively, in a game where every point mattered. Auburn’s 53 points were its lowest in a game since February 2023, which was also against Tennessee.

“Our guys were exhausted,” Pearl said. “I told our guys before the game, I said, you’re going to be more tired after this game than any game we play all year long, because Tennessee, if you’re going to guard them, you’re going to wear yourself out guarding them. But at the same time, we didn’t have the kind of energy we needed to execute offensively either.”

There were still a lot of good things Barnes and his team will take away from the effort. Their rebound performance on the road (Aubur owned a slight 41-37 advatage) was considerably better than those that led to losses at Vanderbilt and Florida. The Vols are once again ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which has been common under Barnes, but their No. 33 offensive efficiency ranking indicates they are not as proficient as they need to be at that end of the floor.

Vols senior poing guard Zakai Zeigler led the way for the Vols with 14 points while fellow guard Chaz Lanier had 10. Senior guard Jordan Gainey, who is battling the flu and hadn’t practiced since Tennessee’s last game, was the next closest with eight. Barnes said the growth on offense needs to come from the front line of 6-foot-11 junior forward Felix Okpara, 6-foot-10 senior forward Igor Milicic Jr. and 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Cade Phillips. The trio combined for just 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

“I told our guys, you know what, we can get so much better, too,” Barnes said. “That’s what I learned tonight. And again, we battled a great basketball team and a team that is extremely well coached and I didn’t think the crowd affected us. I give that credit to our older guys.”

Although this was the only scheduled regular season meeting between the two SEC heavyweights, no one will be surprised if they play twice more – in the finals of the SEC Tournament and at the Final Four in San Antonio. ESPN broadcaster Jimmy Dykes, who called the game, wrote on social media that Saturday could have been a preview of the national title game. When asked about that comment afterwards, Zeigler offered a simple, clear answer:

“Facts,” he said.