What Auburn’s win over Tennessee means for SEC, NCAA Tournaments

The Auburn Tigers ended the regular season on a positive note, taking down the No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers in a 79-70 victory on Saturday. The result will have implications for both next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, TN, and the NCAA Tournament in less than two weeks.

For Tennessee, the loss most likely takes it out of the running for the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament next week. Depending on the results of the Kentucky, Missouri, and Vanderbilt’s matchups this afternoon, there’s a chance that the Vols could fall out of the top four and miss out on a double-bye in Nashville. UT is currently being projected as a possible No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but an early exit in Nashville next week could jeopardize that.

For Auburn, they can finish no higher than the No. 6 seed for the league tourney next week. As for the NCAA Tournament, it was already solidly in the big dance and adding another Quad 1 victory only boosts its resume ahead of Selection Sunday.