University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Record Wire-to-Wire Victory over Auburn, 77-69
January 31, 2026 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men's basketball team led from start to finish Saturday night in a 77-69 win against Auburn at a sold-out Food City Center.
Freshman forward Nate Ament, who went 12-of-15 at the line, led all scorers with 22 points for Tennessee (15-6, 5-3) in the team's third consecutive triumph.
The Volunteers raced out to a 16-6 lead after just 4:54 of action, opening 6-of-8 from the field—they rebounded both misses—and connecting on five shots in a row, three of which were from beyond the arc. Buoyed by four straight makes from both the field and the line, Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC) cut it to 18-14 at the 12:11 mark.
Tennessee, though, countered with a 9-0 burst in just 2:30 to go up by 13 points, 27-14, with 9:02 left in the session. Soon after, it used a 6-0 run over 57 seconds of action to claim a game-best 16-point lead, 37-21, with 5:22 on the timer, with junior forward Jaylen Carey already notching 11 points.
However, the Volunteers—following a 14-of-23 start—did not make a field goal the rest of the stanza, missing their final eight attempts. Auburn, meanwhile, closed the half with a four-point play with 3.2 seconds left to make it a 10-point margin, 41-31, through 20 minutes.
Tennessee scored the initial basket of the second frame, but Auburn responded with consecutive three-point plays in just 38 seconds to slice its deficit in half, to 43-37, with 18:14 left. The Volunteers immediately pushed the lead back to 10 just 65 seconds later, but Auburn soon got it down to five, 49-44 with 13:35 to go, with the help of another four-point play.
The Tigers clawed within four just 100 ticks after that, but Tennessee answered with six straight points in just 53 seconds to go in front by double digits, 59-49, with 9:07 remaining. Auburn, though, went on a 7-0 spurt in 99 seconds to make it a one-possession affair, 59-56, with 7:08 to play. Another stretch of six consecutive points for the home team made it 65-56 with 5:36 on the timer.
Auburn drilled a 3-pointer at the other end, but Tennessee scored five points in a row to push its advantage to 11, 70-59, with 4:28 to go, concluding a stretch of four consecutive makes. The lead stayed the same with under three minutes left, but five straight points by the visitors trimmed their deficit to six, 72-66, with 1:55 remaining.
The two sides split the next four points, but Tennessee scored the next three from the stripe to go up by nine with 20 seconds left, effectively icing the decision. An Auburn free throw nine ticks later capped the scoring.
Ament became the first Volunteer with 12-plus made free throws and/or 15-plus attempts since Jan. 23, 2019, and the first with 15-plus attempts in a regulation contest since Nov. 13, 2018. In addition, he became the first SEC freshman with 15-plus attempts in over three years, plus co-led all players with eight rebounds.
Carey finished with 13 points and matched Ament in the rebound column, as did sophomore guard Bishop Boswell and freshman guard Amari Evans who had seven and six points, respectively. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie tallied 11 points and a team-high five assists, while freshman forward DeWayne Brown II notched 10 points, seven rebounds, a career-best four assists and a career-high two steals.
Ament, Boswell, Carey and Evans became the second Tennessee quartet with eight-plus rebounds in the same game over the last 20 seasons (2006-26) and the first since Dec. 23, 2013. Brown gave the Volunteers a quintet of players with seven-plus boards for the first time in the last two decades, marking just the 12th such occurrence by an SEC team in that span.
Senior forward Keyshawn Hall, after starting 1-of-8 from the field through 28 minutes, finished 7-of-17 to lead the Tigers with 21 points. He not only made six of his final nine field goals, but also three of his last five 3-point tries after a 0-of-4 beginning.
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford put up 11 points, but the Volunteers limited him to a 4-of-14 field-goal clip that included just a 2-of-11 ledger from long range. No other Tiger reached double figures.
Tennessee held Auburn, which entered the night at No. 10 nationally in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency, to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting, including 22.6 percent (7-of-31) from 3-point range.
The victors, who led for 39:21, finished with an 80.6 percent (25-of-31) ledger at the free-throw line, their second-best clip of the season.
Up next for Tennessee is a second consecutive home game at Food City Center, where it takes the court Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a matchup with Ole Miss, live on ESPN2.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 851 victories in his career, tying John Calipari for first among all active Division I head coaches and for ninth place all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• Saturday marked the 1,280th game of Barnes' career, passing Jerry Slocum for sole possession of eighth place all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers registered their third regular season sellout of 2025-26, alongside the Dec. 16 outing against Louisville and the Jan. 17 game versus Kentucky.
• The 21,678 fans in the arena Saturday tied for the fourth-highest single-game attendance of the season thus far in college basketball, equaling Tennessee's matchups with Louisville and Kentucky.
• Tennessee now possesses 27 sellouts over the last five seasons—three in 2025-26, eight in 2024-25, eight in 2023-24, five in 2022-23 and three in 2021-22—and has a 22-5 ledger in those games, including a 17-3 tally since Feb. 15, 2023.
• The Volunteers improved to 40-16 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 35-14 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 29-8 under Barnes.
• Tennessee is now 98-35 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 39-11 in the Barnes era, with 35 of the latter 50 over the past five seasons (2021-26).
• The Volunteers improved to 83-46 in their all-time series with Auburn, now sitting 37 games over .500 versus the Tigers.
• The 83 victories over Auburn are now solely Tennessee's fourth-most over any foe, breaking a tie with Florida (82).
• Tennessee improved to 5-2 in its last seven games against Auburn—both setbacks were on the road—after dropping each of the prior six.
• Auburn's Steven Pearl became the second former Tennessee men's basketball player to serve as a head coach elsewhere and take his team on the road to play the Volunteers, joining Tommy Bartlett.
• This matchup snapped a 12-game series streak (Jan. 2, 2018, to March 15, 2025) across eight seasons with at least one team ranked.
• As announced prior to tip-off, senior forward Felix Okpara, who started each of the last 58 games over the past two seasons, did not play due to a left calf injury.
• With Okpara out, the Volunteers used their eighth different starting lineup this season, with Ament and Gillespie the only two who have been featured in all 21.
• Saturday marked just the fourth regular season game Tennessee has played in the last six seasons (2020-26) during which it was unranked in the AP Poll, alongside a 65-54 home win over Florida on March 7, 2021, a 79-73 road win at Alabama a week ago and an 86-85 road win at Georgia three days ago.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 20 of 21 games this year, with 15-plus in 13 outings, 18-plus five times and 20-plus four times, now with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 18 of 21 contests, with 42-plus in 12, 46-plus in 10 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Tennessee shot over 80.0 percent from the free-throw line for the second time this season, joining an 88.6 percent (31-of-35) showing Nov. 20 against Tennessee State.
• Junior guard/forward Kevin Overton's four-point play at the end of the first half and Pettiford early in the second half were the second and third Tennessee has allowed in SEC action this season, alongside one to Meleek Thomas in the second half Jan. 3 at Arkansas.
• Four Tennessee starters—Ament, Boswell, Gillespie and redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella—had three personal fouls by the first media timeout of the second half, with 15:51 remaining.
• The only other time in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) four Tennessee players had eight-plus rebounds in the same game was on Dec. 23, 2013, against Morehead State, when Derek Reese (10), Jarnell Stokes (nine), Josh Richardson (eight) and Jeronne Maymon (eight) did so.
• Ament, Boswell, Carey and Evans also became just the 13th SEC quartet in the last 20 campaigns (2006-26) to grab all notch eight-plus boards in the same game during an SEC contest.
• Ament, Boswell, Brown, Carey and Evans not became the lone Tennessee quintet to all log at least seven rebounds in the same contest over the past 20 years (2006-26), but also just the 12th SEC group to do so.
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), the only three other times have five players on one SEC team pulled down seven-plus rebounds in the same game: Auburn on Jan. 3, 2026, versus Georgia; Florida on Jan. 11, 2025, versus Arkansas; and Florida on Jan. 12, 2013, versus LSU.
• Carey scored in double figures for the 30th time in his career, including the 10th in his first season as a Volunteer.
• Ament finished with 17-plus points for the 12th time this season, including the sixth in a row, and amassed 20-plus for the sixth time, including the third in the last five contests.
• The 12 made free throws for Ament set a new career high, eclipsing the nine he logged both Jan. 13 against Texas A&M and Nov. 8 versus Northern Kentucky.
• The last Tennessee player with 12-plus made free throws in a game was Grant Williams in a 23-of-23 performance Jan. 23, 2019, at Vanderbilt, while the last to do it in regulation was Williams just eight days before that when he went 14-of-14 versus Arkansas.
• Ament is just the fourth SEC freshman—fifth instance—in the last five seasons (2021-26) to hit 12-plus free throws in a contest, following Alabama's Amari Allen (12-of-12 on Jan. 7, 2026, at Vanderbilt), Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears (12-of-12 on March 5, 2025, versus Missouri and 12-of-14 on Nov. 27, 2024, versus Providence in Nassau, Bahamas), and Arkansas' Anthony Black (13-of-16 on Jan. 7, 2023, at Auburn).
• Ament's 15 free-throw attempts also set a new career best, surpassing the 11 he posted both Jan. 13 versus Texas A&M and Jan. 3 at Arkansas.
• The last Volunteer with 15-plus free-throws attempts in a contest was Grant Williams in a 23-of-23 outing Jan. 23, 2019, at Vanderbilt, while the last to do it in regulation was Williams in a 10-of-16 showing Nov. 13, 2018, against Georgia Tech.
• The last time a Tennessee player took 15-plus free throws in a regulation SEC game was Jan. 9, 2018, when Grant Williams notched a 13-of-15 line at Vanderbilt.
• Ament became not only the first SEC freshman with 15-plus free-throw attempts in over three years, but also just the second to do so in the last five seasons (2021-26), joining Arkansas' Anthony Black, who went 13-of-16 on Jan. 7, 2023, at Auburn.
• Evans' eight rebounds set a new career best, eclipsing the five he registered on three occasions, most recently doing so Jan. 13 versus Texas A&M.
• The 23:34 of action for Evans also set a new career best, eclipsing the 22:52 he played in a Jan. 6 game against Texas.
• Brown also set a new career high in minutes, as his 33:12 far surpassed his previous high of 25:20 in that same Jan. 6 affair versus Texas.
• Brown scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, including the third in just the past seven games.
• The seven rebounds for Brown marked his second-most as a collegian, trailing only the 14 he pulled down Dec. 21 versus Gardner-Webb, as this set a new SEC high.
• Brown entered Saturday's game with greater than two assists just once, with his four against the Tigers eclipsing his three Dec. 2 at Syracuse for his new career high.
• After tallying two steals in the first 18 outings of his career, Brown logged two—his first time with multiple in an outing—Saturday night alone.
• The only other game Okpara has missed in his four-year college career was a Nov. 21, 2023, outing against New Orleans, while at Ohio State, which he sat out of due to illness.
• Okpara entered Saturday's contest with a streak of 64 consecutive starts that dated back to the final six games of the 2023-24 season when he was at Ohio State.
Freshman forward Nate Ament, who went 12-of-15 at the line, led all scorers with 22 points for Tennessee (15-6, 5-3) in the team's third consecutive triumph.
The Volunteers raced out to a 16-6 lead after just 4:54 of action, opening 6-of-8 from the field—they rebounded both misses—and connecting on five shots in a row, three of which were from beyond the arc. Buoyed by four straight makes from both the field and the line, Auburn (14-8, 5-4 SEC) cut it to 18-14 at the 12:11 mark.
Tennessee, though, countered with a 9-0 burst in just 2:30 to go up by 13 points, 27-14, with 9:02 left in the session. Soon after, it used a 6-0 run over 57 seconds of action to claim a game-best 16-point lead, 37-21, with 5:22 on the timer, with junior forward Jaylen Carey already notching 11 points.
However, the Volunteers—following a 14-of-23 start—did not make a field goal the rest of the stanza, missing their final eight attempts. Auburn, meanwhile, closed the half with a four-point play with 3.2 seconds left to make it a 10-point margin, 41-31, through 20 minutes.
Tennessee scored the initial basket of the second frame, but Auburn responded with consecutive three-point plays in just 38 seconds to slice its deficit in half, to 43-37, with 18:14 left. The Volunteers immediately pushed the lead back to 10 just 65 seconds later, but Auburn soon got it down to five, 49-44 with 13:35 to go, with the help of another four-point play.
The Tigers clawed within four just 100 ticks after that, but Tennessee answered with six straight points in just 53 seconds to go in front by double digits, 59-49, with 9:07 remaining. Auburn, though, went on a 7-0 spurt in 99 seconds to make it a one-possession affair, 59-56, with 7:08 to play. Another stretch of six consecutive points for the home team made it 65-56 with 5:36 on the timer.
Auburn drilled a 3-pointer at the other end, but Tennessee scored five points in a row to push its advantage to 11, 70-59, with 4:28 to go, concluding a stretch of four consecutive makes. The lead stayed the same with under three minutes left, but five straight points by the visitors trimmed their deficit to six, 72-66, with 1:55 remaining.
The two sides split the next four points, but Tennessee scored the next three from the stripe to go up by nine with 20 seconds left, effectively icing the decision. An Auburn free throw nine ticks later capped the scoring.
Ament became the first Volunteer with 12-plus made free throws and/or 15-plus attempts since Jan. 23, 2019, and the first with 15-plus attempts in a regulation contest since Nov. 13, 2018. In addition, he became the first SEC freshman with 15-plus attempts in over three years, plus co-led all players with eight rebounds.
Carey finished with 13 points and matched Ament in the rebound column, as did sophomore guard Bishop Boswell and freshman guard Amari Evans who had seven and six points, respectively. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie tallied 11 points and a team-high five assists, while freshman forward DeWayne Brown II notched 10 points, seven rebounds, a career-best four assists and a career-high two steals.
Ament, Boswell, Carey and Evans became the second Tennessee quartet with eight-plus rebounds in the same game over the last 20 seasons (2006-26) and the first since Dec. 23, 2013. Brown gave the Volunteers a quintet of players with seven-plus boards for the first time in the last two decades, marking just the 12th such occurrence by an SEC team in that span.
Senior forward Keyshawn Hall, after starting 1-of-8 from the field through 28 minutes, finished 7-of-17 to lead the Tigers with 21 points. He not only made six of his final nine field goals, but also three of his last five 3-point tries after a 0-of-4 beginning.
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford put up 11 points, but the Volunteers limited him to a 4-of-14 field-goal clip that included just a 2-of-11 ledger from long range. No other Tiger reached double figures.
Tennessee held Auburn, which entered the night at No. 10 nationally in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency, to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) shooting, including 22.6 percent (7-of-31) from 3-point range.
The victors, who led for 39:21, finished with an 80.6 percent (25-of-31) ledger at the free-throw line, their second-best clip of the season.
Up next for Tennessee is a second consecutive home game at Food City Center, where it takes the court Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a matchup with Ole Miss, live on ESPN2.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 851 victories in his career, tying John Calipari for first among all active Division I head coaches and for ninth place all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• Saturday marked the 1,280th game of Barnes' career, passing Jerry Slocum for sole possession of eighth place all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers registered their third regular season sellout of 2025-26, alongside the Dec. 16 outing against Louisville and the Jan. 17 game versus Kentucky.
• The 21,678 fans in the arena Saturday tied for the fourth-highest single-game attendance of the season thus far in college basketball, equaling Tennessee's matchups with Louisville and Kentucky.
• Tennessee now possesses 27 sellouts over the last five seasons—three in 2025-26, eight in 2024-25, eight in 2023-24, five in 2022-23 and three in 2021-22—and has a 22-5 ledger in those games, including a 17-3 tally since Feb. 15, 2023.
• The Volunteers improved to 40-16 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 35-14 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 29-8 under Barnes.
• Tennessee is now 98-35 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 39-11 in the Barnes era, with 35 of the latter 50 over the past five seasons (2021-26).
• The Volunteers improved to 83-46 in their all-time series with Auburn, now sitting 37 games over .500 versus the Tigers.
• The 83 victories over Auburn are now solely Tennessee's fourth-most over any foe, breaking a tie with Florida (82).
• Tennessee improved to 5-2 in its last seven games against Auburn—both setbacks were on the road—after dropping each of the prior six.
• Auburn's Steven Pearl became the second former Tennessee men's basketball player to serve as a head coach elsewhere and take his team on the road to play the Volunteers, joining Tommy Bartlett.
• This matchup snapped a 12-game series streak (Jan. 2, 2018, to March 15, 2025) across eight seasons with at least one team ranked.
• As announced prior to tip-off, senior forward Felix Okpara, who started each of the last 58 games over the past two seasons, did not play due to a left calf injury.
• With Okpara out, the Volunteers used their eighth different starting lineup this season, with Ament and Gillespie the only two who have been featured in all 21.
• Saturday marked just the fourth regular season game Tennessee has played in the last six seasons (2020-26) during which it was unranked in the AP Poll, alongside a 65-54 home win over Florida on March 7, 2021, a 79-73 road win at Alabama a week ago and an 86-85 road win at Georgia three days ago.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 20 of 21 games this year, with 15-plus in 13 outings, 18-plus five times and 20-plus four times, now with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 18 of 21 contests, with 42-plus in 12, 46-plus in 10 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Tennessee shot over 80.0 percent from the free-throw line for the second time this season, joining an 88.6 percent (31-of-35) showing Nov. 20 against Tennessee State.
• Junior guard/forward Kevin Overton's four-point play at the end of the first half and Pettiford early in the second half were the second and third Tennessee has allowed in SEC action this season, alongside one to Meleek Thomas in the second half Jan. 3 at Arkansas.
• Four Tennessee starters—Ament, Boswell, Gillespie and redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella—had three personal fouls by the first media timeout of the second half, with 15:51 remaining.
• The only other time in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) four Tennessee players had eight-plus rebounds in the same game was on Dec. 23, 2013, against Morehead State, when Derek Reese (10), Jarnell Stokes (nine), Josh Richardson (eight) and Jeronne Maymon (eight) did so.
• Ament, Boswell, Carey and Evans also became just the 13th SEC quartet in the last 20 campaigns (2006-26) to grab all notch eight-plus boards in the same game during an SEC contest.
• Ament, Boswell, Brown, Carey and Evans not became the lone Tennessee quintet to all log at least seven rebounds in the same contest over the past 20 years (2006-26), but also just the 12th SEC group to do so.
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), the only three other times have five players on one SEC team pulled down seven-plus rebounds in the same game: Auburn on Jan. 3, 2026, versus Georgia; Florida on Jan. 11, 2025, versus Arkansas; and Florida on Jan. 12, 2013, versus LSU.
• Carey scored in double figures for the 30th time in his career, including the 10th in his first season as a Volunteer.
• Ament finished with 17-plus points for the 12th time this season, including the sixth in a row, and amassed 20-plus for the sixth time, including the third in the last five contests.
• The 12 made free throws for Ament set a new career high, eclipsing the nine he logged both Jan. 13 against Texas A&M and Nov. 8 versus Northern Kentucky.
• The last Tennessee player with 12-plus made free throws in a game was Grant Williams in a 23-of-23 performance Jan. 23, 2019, at Vanderbilt, while the last to do it in regulation was Williams just eight days before that when he went 14-of-14 versus Arkansas.
• Ament is just the fourth SEC freshman—fifth instance—in the last five seasons (2021-26) to hit 12-plus free throws in a contest, following Alabama's Amari Allen (12-of-12 on Jan. 7, 2026, at Vanderbilt), Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears (12-of-12 on March 5, 2025, versus Missouri and 12-of-14 on Nov. 27, 2024, versus Providence in Nassau, Bahamas), and Arkansas' Anthony Black (13-of-16 on Jan. 7, 2023, at Auburn).
• Ament's 15 free-throw attempts also set a new career best, surpassing the 11 he posted both Jan. 13 versus Texas A&M and Jan. 3 at Arkansas.
• The last Volunteer with 15-plus free-throws attempts in a contest was Grant Williams in a 23-of-23 outing Jan. 23, 2019, at Vanderbilt, while the last to do it in regulation was Williams in a 10-of-16 showing Nov. 13, 2018, against Georgia Tech.
• The last time a Tennessee player took 15-plus free throws in a regulation SEC game was Jan. 9, 2018, when Grant Williams notched a 13-of-15 line at Vanderbilt.
• Ament became not only the first SEC freshman with 15-plus free-throw attempts in over three years, but also just the second to do so in the last five seasons (2021-26), joining Arkansas' Anthony Black, who went 13-of-16 on Jan. 7, 2023, at Auburn.
• Evans' eight rebounds set a new career best, eclipsing the five he registered on three occasions, most recently doing so Jan. 13 versus Texas A&M.
• The 23:34 of action for Evans also set a new career best, eclipsing the 22:52 he played in a Jan. 6 game against Texas.
• Brown also set a new career high in minutes, as his 33:12 far surpassed his previous high of 25:20 in that same Jan. 6 affair versus Texas.
• Brown scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, including the third in just the past seven games.
• The seven rebounds for Brown marked his second-most as a collegian, trailing only the 14 he pulled down Dec. 21 versus Gardner-Webb, as this set a new SEC high.
• Brown entered Saturday's game with greater than two assists just once, with his four against the Tigers eclipsing his three Dec. 2 at Syracuse for his new career high.
• After tallying two steals in the first 18 outings of his career, Brown logged two—his first time with multiple in an outing—Saturday night alone.
• The only other game Okpara has missed in his four-year college career was a Nov. 21, 2023, outing against New Orleans, while at Ohio State, which he sat out of due to illness.
• Okpara entered Saturday's contest with a streak of 64 consecutive starts that dated back to the final six games of the 2023-24 season when he was at Ohio State.
Team Stats
AU
UT
FG%
.381
.444
3FG%
.226
.308
FT%
.700
.806
RB
30
46
TO
10
15
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
MBB | Rick Barnes Postgame vs. Auburn (1.31.26)
Sunday, February 01
MBB | Nate Ament & DeWayne Brown II Postgame vs. Auburn (1.31.26)
Sunday, February 01
MBB | Auburn Postgame (1.31.26)
Sunday, February 01
MBB | Highlights: Tennessee 77, Auburn 69
Saturday, January 31


















