Tennessee basketball buzz
Tennessee's men’s program energized the community with a dramatic 20-0 run in a comeback win at the SEC tournament, a streak highlighted in local coverage this week reported. The momentum is a timely hook for clinic outreach to fans, athletes and school programs.
Nate Ament suffered a right-leg injury on Feb. 28 against Alabama [knoxnews.com]. He returned for Tennessee’s SEC Tournament second-round game vs. Auburn and finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks, according to the ESPN box score and the university recap [espn.com]. Tennessee’s victory over Auburn advanced the Vols to the SEC quarterfinals to face Vanderbilt, per the UT Athletics recap [utsports.com]. Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 75–68 on March 13 as Duke Miles scored a season-high 30 points, according to ESPN and The Tennessean game coverage [espn.com]. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl publicly criticized officiating after the second-round game on social media, a reaction captured in Rocky Top Insider’s post-game coverage [rockytopinsider.com]. Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford had scored 28 points earlier in the contest but did not register a field goal in the final 6:36, per Auburn’s official recap [auburntigers.com]. The SEC Tournament took place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from March 11–15, with Tennessee’s second-round game on March 12 and the quarterfinal on March 13, as listed on the tournament schedule and game summaries [sports.yahoo.com]. Tennessee’s record moved to 22–10 after the Auburn game and to 22–11 following the Vanderbilt loss, per the UT and ESPN box scores [utsports.com].
