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Tennessee Basketball: Vols Dominate Auburn Tigers in First SEC Tournament Game 97-59

By Caleb Calhoun

Mar 9, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Derek Reese (23) and forward Armani Moore (4) and guard Shembari Phillips (25) fight for possession with Auburn Tigers forward Tyler Harris (12) during game 1 of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Derek Reese (23) and forward Armani Moore (4) and guard Shembari Phillips (25) fight for possession with Auburn Tigers forward Tyler Harris (12) during game 1 of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports /
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As a No. 12 seed, Tennessee basketball had a shocking first win in the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers destroyed the Auburn Tigers 97-59.

Armani Moore, Derek Reese, and Devon Baulkman did not want Wednesday to be their last game playing college basketball.

Related Story: 5 Things the Vols Need to Do to Win the SEC Tournament

The three Tennessee basketball seniors picked up the slack with senior Kevin Punter Jr. gone and then some by blowing out the Auburn Tigers and their former coach Bruce Pearl 97-59.

Moore was the star of the show, making 10-of-13 field goals for 22 points along with five assists and four rebounds. Meanwhile, Baulkman stepped up as the top guard by scoring 16 points, going four-of-eight from the three-point line and making four free throws, and Reese added nine points to go with 11 rebounds.

Admiral Schofield’s 12 points also helped along with Detrick Mostella’s 17 points off the bench.

In a No. 12 vs No. 13 game for the SEC Tournament, the Vols improved to 14-18 in Rick Barnes’s first year. They were able to advance to what you might call the actual first round of the bracket now and will face the Vanderbilt Commodores Thursday, a bubble team with three seven-footers that owned Tennessee earlier in the year.

However, if they look the way they looked Wednesday, they might have a chance to beat anybody.

The Vols did shoot very well from the three-point line and held the Tigers, who finished the season 11-20, to a below 15 percent from the three-point line.

But in a 30-plus point margin of victory, that was clearly not the only factor.

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The biggest thing for the Vols was their ability to finish at the rim and make easy looks, a crucial problem that has plagued them all season long. Moore continued to get open looks from the mid-range and constantly knocked those shots down.

If Tennessee can do that going forward, this tournament could get extremely interesting.

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