A heavyweight matchup on Saturday, Jan. 25 could decide the winner of the SEC in college basketball, as No. 1 nationally-ranked Auburn will play host to No. 6 ranked Tennessee in what could be an instant classic.

Auburn star forward Johni Broome will be a game-time decision, as his status is still up in the air after missing the past two games with an ankle injury he suffered on Jan. 11. In the absence of Broome, the Tigers have been able to stay undefeated in SEC play with a lot of help from freshman Tahhad Pettiford, who scored 24 points in Auburn’s two-point win over Georgia last Saturday.

Tennessee on the other hand is 4-2 in SEC play, with one of those losses coming last Saturday against unranked Vanderbilt. Chaz Lanier is the leading scorer for the Volunteers, averaging just over 18 PPG. He must put together a standout game and emphasize getting center Igor Milicic involved if Auburn is missing Broome.

The deciding factor in this game will be if Tennessee’s defense can hold Auburn to less than 80 points. The Tigers rank No. 10 in the country in points-per-game at 85.7 while Tennessee only averages 76.4. The Volunteers’ defense ranks No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom, and if Johni Broome (17.9 PPG) is out, Tennessee has a legit chance.

This should be an awesome game to cap off a bunch of top-25 matchups on Saturday. Whether Broome plays or not, this should be a great game. Tennessee was ranked No. 1 for multiple weeks this year and has shown they can win on the road in a tough atmosphere. At the end of the day, I am still going to go with Auburn as my winner for this game to advance to 6-0 in SEC play.

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