The Auburn Tigers will face the Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday in an SEC matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee is first in the conference with four games remaining on the schedule. They have a tough road ahead of them if they want to remain at the top of the standings, as every opponent they will face is ranked inside the top 25. Tennessee has an impressive 11-3 record against SEC teams, so Dalton Knecht and the Volunteers will be ready for the task.
Watch Auburn vs. Tennessee
The Tigers are fourth in the standings but are only a game back from Tennessee, which makes this an extremely important game for both teams. Chad Baker-Mazara led Auburn to victory in their last game over Georgia by scoring 25 points on 8-12 from the field and 2-3 from distance. This is the toughest game remaining on their schedule, so a win would put them in a great position to win the SEC.
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Here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action.
Auburn Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers
When: Wednesday, February 28th
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV Channel: ESPN2
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch now for free)
NCAA Odds and Betting Lines
NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
Auburn Tigers (+260) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (-7.5)
O/U: 151.5
Want some action on NCAA basketball? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others at Tipico Sportsbook.
Watch Auburn vs. Tennessee
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One person was killed after severe thunderstorms ripped through the Middle Tennessee region on Wednesday, triggering a “violent” tornado to touch down in Maury County, according to weather officials.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado emergency—the service’s highest alert level—for Maury, Williamson and Rutherford counties just before 6 p.m. CDT, according to The Tennessean. NWS Nashville’s office shortly afterward posted to X, formerly Twitter, that a “large, violent” tornado was “on the ground” near Spring Hill, roughly 36 miles south of Nashville.
Officials with the Maury Country Regional Hospital confirmed to local news outlets that at least one person died from storm-related injuries. Three other individuals suffered non-life-threatening injuries and another was in serious condition, according to reports from The Tennessean and WKRN.
Additional information about the death was not immediately available. Newsweek reached out to the Maury County Regional Hospital via email for additional information on Wednesday night.
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In this aerial view, a building sits severely damaged by a tornado on April 3 in Sunbright, Tennessee. A deadly tornado was reported in the Middle Tennessee region Wednesday evening as violent storms ripped through… In this aerial view, a building sits severely damaged by a tornado on April 3 in Sunbright, Tennessee. A deadly tornado was reported in the Middle Tennessee region Wednesday evening as violent storms ripped through the Midwest.
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
The Context
Tornado watches were issued for six states ahead of Wednesday’s storms into early Thursday morning by NWS. Weather officials said that preliminary assessments found that a EF-2 tornado touched down in Hot Springs, Arkansas, just after 12:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday, according to KARK.
A tornado emergency was also issued for parts of Michigan on Tuesday evening—a first for the Great Lakes State—as severe storms ripped through portions of Michigan as well as Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri.
What We Know
Property damage and scattered debris were reported in the area by the Maury County Office of Emergency Management, which in a series of posts to Facebook also urged residents to stay home and off the roadways while the tornado tore through the county. Video of the twister was also captured by a station camera with the Tennessee Valley Weather group, which was shared to X by radar analyst Bryan Wilson.
WE JUST CAPTURED A LARGE WEDGE ON OUR STATION 3 LIVE CAM IN COLUMBIA; A TORNADO EMERGENCY IS IN EFFECT WITH THIS CELL. TAKE SHELTER NOW! #tnwxpic.twitter.com/QHRZV6UGII
Threats of high winds, hail and flooding are expected to continue into early Thursday morning for parts of Middle Tennessee. A flash-food emergency was also issued north of Nashville in Sumner and Robertson counties. The NWS said in a weather alert that water rescues in those areas were ongoing and that the flooding was life-threatening.
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Storm-related damage was also reported in parts of North Carolina on Wednesday evening. According to USA Today’s power outage tracker, as of 8 p.m. CDT, over 100,000 people were left without power across the state after the storms. Over 31,000 outages were reported across Tennessee at the time of publication.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
It’s time for Tennessee to acknowledge the tireless efforts these family caregivers provide and pay them for their work
Vanessa Zapata | Guest Columnist
Tennessee Voices: A conversation with Elizabeth Moss
Tennessean Opinion Editor David Plazas spoke to Elizabeth Moss, founder, Caregivers by WholeCare
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Nashville Tennessean
Vanessa Zapata is an attorney and the director of health policy and equity at the Tennessee Justice Center.
Tennessee ranks last in all 50 states and D.C. in its treatment of family caregivers according to a 2023 AARP report.
This comes as no surprise to Tennessee families who must care for loved ones with disabilities and/or who are aging.
The expectations and stress related to family caregiving are too high and have become unsustainable.
Every day, families reach a breaking point, as one family caregiver explained, “I would like there to be 24/7 support for my son in the family home. He would get this support in any other residential setting, but since he lives with me, it’s expected that I will do everything over 40 hours a week for free. It’s just too much to expect of any person. It’s no wonder that family caregivers go into crisis. Can’t live on four hours of sleep indefinitely.”
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During the COVID-19 public health emergency, many states paid family caregivers as a method of protecting medically frail individuals during the pandemic. This experiment helped states understand that paying family caregivers is not only a tool to keep vulnerable community members safe and out of an institutional setting. It also provides critical relief for the family caregiver. It’s time for Tennessee to join this trend and pay these unsung heroes for their work. We can do this through Medicaid Structured Family Caregiving.
Change the system so it works for Tennessee families
Compensating family caregivers is a strategic investment in healthcare. Studies consistently show that family care at home significantly decreases health care utilization such as ER use. Paying family caregivers also recognizes caregivers as integral members of the healthcare team for the person supported. Not only will this prevent the undervaluing of their work but will also promote equity as Black and Hispanic households are more likely to take on family caregiving roles.
Right now, our state’s Medicaid program, TennCare, only has the option of “Consumer Direction” as an indirect way for family caregivers to be compensated.
However, many families have found this option to be impossible to implement. The most impractical barrier for many families is that immediate family members or any person that lives with the person supported, or even lived with the person in the last five years, cannot be paid through Consumer Direction. This structure just doesn’t work for many families.
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But we can change the system so that it does work for those who are aging, those that have disabilities, and their families. Implementing this policy requires thoughtful analysis of what Tennessee families experience today, the experience during COVID, and what other states are trying now.
One option that Tennessee can study is Georgia’s state agency, Health Force of Georgia, which manages hiring and paying family caregivers. Another option is the agency-directed model, where family members are hired by existing agencies, as seen in Oregon.
Care giving should not become a financial burden
It’s time to acknowledge the tireless efforts these family caregivers provide and pay them for their work.
They shouldn’t have to choose between caring for a loved one and financially supporting their family.
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This not only helps value their work but also reaches the heart of what our TennCare program is about – providing healthcare to Tennesseans.
Vanessa Zapata is an attorney and the director of health policy and equity at the Tennessee Justice Center. She provides direct services to individuals having issues navigating public benefits programs like TennCare Medicaid. She advocates for policies that strengthen public benefits programs, remove access barriers to these programs, and promotes health equity.
