No. 17 Tennessee Upsets No. 3 Auburn 67-62; Jabari Smith Drops 27 Points

The penultimate Saturday of regular-season action in college basketball turned into a day of upsets across the country.

No. 3 Auburn suffered its fourth loss of the season with a 67-62 defeat at the hands of No. 17 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Jabari Smith didn't have an efficient scoring day with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting (3-of-9 behind the arc) from the field.

Four Tennessee players scored in double figures, led by Santiago Vescovi's 14 points. He only went 3-of-9 from the field but made all six of his free-throw attempts.

The Vols only shot 32.8 percent in the game, but they had a 21-10 advantage in offensive rebounds. John Fulkerson had six of those boards off the bench.

Head coach Bruce Pearl's team is limping to the finish line after being one of the best teams in the nation for most of the year. The Tigers have lost two of their last three games, including a 63-62 defeat against Florida on Feb. 19.

Saturday's loss leaves the door open for the SEC regular-season title. Auburn still leads the pack with a 13-3 record in conference games, but Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas are all tied for second at 12-4.

The Volunteers are 2-1 against those three teams, with all three games coming in the past 11 days. They beat Kentucky on Feb. 15, lost at Arkansas on Feb. 19 and now hold a win over Auburn.

Each of Auburn's four losses this season have come on the road or at a neutral site.

The Vols outscored Auburn 42-31 in the second half after trailing by six points at halftime.

After Smith made two free throws to put the Tigers ahead 41-39 with 12:21 remaining, Tennessee took the lead for good on Kennedy Chandler's layup two minutes later.

Tennessee did lead by as many as 10 points with 2:48 left in regulation, but Auburn went on a 9-2 run that cut the deficit to 63-60. Smith's four-point play was the exclamation point on that drive to put pressure back on the Vols.

Chandler responded on Tennessee's ensuing possession to get the lead back to 65-60. Wendell Green Jr.'s missed three-pointer for the Tigers, followed by Vescovi making two free throws, sealed the win.

Auburn is one of three teams ranked in the Top 10 of the current Associated Press Top 25 poll that lost Saturday afternoon. Unranked Michigan State upset No. 4 Purdue 68-65. No. 6 Kentucky lost 75-73 to No. 18 Arkansas.

Since a 107-79 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 15 that dropped its record to 11-5, Tennessee has won 10 of its last 12 games.

Auburn is just 3-3 in its past six games after winning 22 of its first 23 games to start the season.

The Vols will wrap up the regular season at Georgia on Tuesday before hosting No. 18 Arkansas on March 5. Auburn plays at Mississippi State on Wednesday and returns home to take on South Carolina on March 5.