Inconsistency has been a description of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team during the 2021 calendar year as the Volunteers have only won consecutive games three times since January.
Tennessee, the No. 25 team in the country, lost at Auburn, 77-72, after knocking off Vanderbilt in Nashville Wednesday night.
It also marked the Tigers’ sixth straight win over the Vols under former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl.
Pearl continued his dominance over the Vols and head coach Rick Barnes.
Pearl defeated Barnes twice during his time at UT when the current Vols’ head coach was in the same capacity at Texas.
In the latest installment of the Auburn series, Tennessee (16-7, 9-7 SEC) had three players post double figures in the scoring column. Freshmen Keon Johnson scored 23 points and Jaden Springer added 20. Senior Yves Pons scored 10 and pulled down eight rebounds.
Victor Bailey Jr. scored nine points for the Vols, who trailed 34-30 at halftime at Auburn Arena.
Allen Flanigan led the Tigers’ balanced offensive attack as he finished with 23 points. Devan Cambridge added 15 points, Jamal Johnson scored 14, while Jaylin Williams totaled 13 and JT Thor finished with 10.
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