Tennessee
Tennessee basketball vs Auburn: Scouting report, score prediction as Vols play 3 straight vs SEC’s top teams
Tennessee basketball hosts Auburn to kick off the final two weeks of the regular season.
“This time of year, if you’re not excited, something’s wrong,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said.
The No. 4 Vols (21-6, 11-3 SEC) host No. 11 Auburn (21-6, 10-4) on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Here is what to know about the matchup:
Zakai Zeigler’s game vs Texas A&M was even more impressive on film
Zakai Zeigler flirted with the second triple-double in Tennessee history on Saturday against Texas A&M. Barnes felt the film of Zeigler’s 14-assist, nine-rebound, nine-point game was even more impressive.
“You get to see the subtle things that he was doing with his eyes, looking off and seeing things,” Barnes said. “You can see he is starting to see a lot of things out there and his poise with the ball, waiting for guys to get where they should have been, was really impressive. He continues to understand more and more what his looks are.”
The 5-foot-9 guard is averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in SEC play.
Where Tennessee basketball is in SEC title race
Tennessee is tied for first in the SEC with Alabama with four games to play. The Vols and Crimson Tide are a game ahead of Auburn and South Carolina.
UT plays all three in its next three games. It plays at Alabama on Saturday and at South Carolina on March 6.
“This is what we have and you’ve got to be ready knowing that everybody we play is just as good as we are or could be better if we are not ready to play,” Barnes said.
The Vols won a share of the SEC regular-season title in the 2017-18 season in coach Rick Barnes’ third season.
Johni Broome is the SEC’s top big man
Auburn forward Johni Broome is terrorizing opponents once again. He is averaging 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, while shooting 55.1% from the field.
Barnes said the 6-foot-10 forward is “truly one of the top post players in the country.”
“I don’t know if he is getting the recognition he deserves,” Barnes said. “A guy that can go inside-outside and does a lot of different things for them. Last year, I thought he was a handful for us and we expect that now.”
Will Jaylin Williams play for Auburn at Tennessee basketball?
Auburn forward Jaylin Williams, Broome’s partner in the post, is a game-time decision due to injury, Tigers coach Bruce Pearl said Tuesday. Williams suffered a right knee injury in Auburn’s 70-59 loss to Kentucky on Feb. 17.
BRACKET: Where Tennessee basketball stands in updated March Madness bracket predictions
Pearl, who coached at UT from 2005-11, said Williams will travel with the Tigers and it is “possible that he could play.”
Williams is averaging 13 points and 4.7 rebounds. He shoots 41.4% on 3-pointers.
Tennessee basketball score prediction vs Auburn
Tennessee 73, Auburn 72: Broome is a problem but the Vols start the gauntlet to close the regular season with a tight win.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Storms are expected to roll through Middle Tennessee Monday morning into the afternoon.
A few storms could turn strong to severe with damaging wind as the main threat. The tornado risk remains very low.
Severe weather threats for Monday, June 1, 2026. (WZTV)
Some storms will bring heavy rain that could cause localized flooding. A second wave of storms is possible later in the day with similar threats.
A large portion of Middle Tennessee was upgraded to a slight risk, Level 2/5, for severe weather. The severe threat ends shortly before sunset Monday.
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The middle of the week looks much nicer with temperatures in the low 80s and lower humidity.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tennessee softball’s opponent for the Women’s College World Series semifinals is set.
The No. 7 seed Lady Volunteers (49-10) will face No. 2 Texas (49-12) at Devon Park on June 1 (noon ET, ESPN). Tennessee and Texas played each other in their WCWS opener on May 28. Tennessee won 6-3.
In the previous matchup, Tennessee used both of its top two pitchers, Karlyn Pickens (15-7, 1.58 ERA) and Sage Mardjetko (16-2, 1.06 ERA). Mardjetko started and allowed just one hit in the first four innings. Pickens finished the game, allowing four hits and three runs but still recording the save.
“Knowing we’ve got to make quicker adjustments, we’ve seen them already,” Texas infielder Katie Stewart said of potentially facing Pickens and Mardjetko again. “Still knowing they’re a really good pitching staff and they’re going to bring it. Just being ready for that. I think just going back, watching film, looking at how we got out and building off that.”
Stewart, the SEC Player of the Year and Texas’ leader in batting average, home runs and RBIs, went 0-for-3 in that first game.
Texas coach Mike White is hopeful that the Longhorns’ familiarity with Pickens and Mardjetko from just a few days prior will help them “pick up where they left off.”
All three of Texas’ runs came in the later part of the game, with the Longhorns scoring off a throwing error and a two-run homer hit by Leighann Goode.
However, he also noted that Tennessee has another talented pitcher in Erin Nuwer (15-1, 0.99 ERA), whom the Longhorns could face for the first time.
“Well, it won’t help us if they throw Nuwer at us,” White said. “They have another one that’s out there that’s pretty good. We’re not forgetting her as well.”
Nuwer hasn’t pitched since Game 2 of the super regionals against Georgia, when she allowed two hits, two hit-by-pitches but no runs in 1⅓ innings. Nuwer’s last start was a complete game against Northern Kentucky in regionals on May 15.
“They have the luxury of us having to beat them twice,” White said. “These pitchers are so good now, they’re able to study what we did, what they did. It becomes that cat-and-mouse game of strategy. That’s what we love about the game, is all the strategy, kind of pitching nuances of the game. It’s going to be a fun matchup.”
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.
Tennessee
Nashville’s Eastpoint Neighborhood groundbreaking marks largest affordable housing project in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville’s newest neighborhood is starting to take shape. The Fallon Company broke ground on the Eastpoint Neighborhood, which developers say is the largest affordable housing project and investment in Tennessee right now.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell says the mixed-use development is designed to benefit all families, accommodating incomes from $20,000 to $80,000 a year. In addition to housing, the development will include upgraded parks and green space, on-site childcare, and retail space.
“This is gonna be how we build Nashville’s next great neighborhood,” O’Connell said.
“We’ll have upgraded parks and green space, it will literally have on-site childcare here,” O’Connell said. “Basically all the ingredients that happen in a great neighborhood are going to be here.”
The development comes as many Nashville families struggle to make ends meet.
“They’re working jobs that are $10, $12 an hour jobs and they cannot afford basic living expenses,” Tony Turntine said.
Turntine and his family are success stories of UpRise Nashville’s free career training program. Through that experience, he has seen firsthand how getting to a better life requires studying, working, mentorship — and help with housing.
“The affordable housing that gives them an opportunity to come out of some of the really lower income neighborhoods they’ve been in and have better, quieter, more wholesome places to live,” Turntine said.
“If people can afford a better opportunity, we see everyone blossom from it. It’s a great day,” Al Brady with UpRise said.
Turntine says the tough choices Nashville families face are real.
“Whether I’m gonna pay the car out or whether I’m gonna get food for the kids,” Turntine said.
Now living and thriving in a new opportunity, Turntine has made it his mission to help others get there too.
“We’re living in a better neighborhood now — we actually just moved last weekend to a house twice the house of what we were in before,” Turntine said. “When you make different choices in life, that gives you different opportunities.”
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
101st Airborne veterans get Purple Hearts years after an insider attack
As we honor those who have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice, it is also heartening to see the military right a wrong. Chris Davis brings us the moving story of a Purple Heart ceremony two decades in the making. It’s worth a watch.
A heartfelt thanks to all who bravely serve.
– Carrie Sharp
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