Back by popular demand (or again, because I have nothing better to do this afternoon), I'll be LIVE blogging today's Tennessee-Auburn game from the comforts of my couch, or possibly my recliner if I want to spruce things up. The world is my oyster.

So check back throughout the game to get updates.

First of all, O-A News gadfly Andrew "Gribbs" Gribble of the always entertaining and informative Fourth and Blog informs us that Auburn is wearing orange uniforms for the game, meaning Tennessee can't possibly be wearing orange. Are the Tigers trying to get a psychological edge? That Jeff Lebo is a crafty one. Imagine what that would look like on TV. I don't think Auburn keep stats for what its record is based on uniform color, but if someone knows, let me know and I'll post it.

2:24: Today's keys ...

• Keep the score low: Auburn thrives in that kind of game. I don't know if it wants to run with the Vols.
• Control the defensive glass: Tennessee thrives on putbacks. Auburn has to limit those today.
• Make some 3's: The Florida game was rare that Auburn won and didn't shoot the 3 that well. The Tigers will need to make some 3's to win this game.

2:27: Someone please tell the Raycom announcers how to say Kor-VOT-ney Barber's name. It's not Kor-VORT-ney Barber. That's been driving me nuts.

2:29: Gribbs tells us that Auburn took the court to virtually no applause. Tennessee's ovation was loud by comparison. Looks like another pro-opponent crowd. Didn't seem to bother the Tigers yesterday.

2:30: This is either a reflection of the economy or that Kentucky is not involved in the tournament anymore, but Gribbs tells us the St. Pete Forum is about half full. Auburn's going with the same starting lineup again: Barber, Rasheem "Pull-up Jumper" Barrett, DeWayne "Speed" Reed, Tay "With the Tray" Waller and Quantez "Get that 3-pointer outta here" Robertson.

2:33: Waller with a 3 on his first shot. That's always a good sign.

2:34: Three 3-pointers taken. Three 3-pointers made Tennessee up 6-3. This could be high-scoring.

2:35: Ooh, Wayne Chism dunk. But Barber answers with a dunk. This is the most intriguing matchup on the day for me.

2:36: Here's a picture from Gribbs on press row. It's good to see young reporters trying to bring back the fedora look. All he needs is a white slip of paper that says "Press." Also, a cigar that is always lit and a cup of scotch at the ready.


2:39: 12-10 Auburn at the first TV timeout. Waller and Barber both have six points. Tennessee has four turnovers.

2:41: For no reason, here's a picture of Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl (I believe that is his daughter on his lap). This photo was apparently taken from the future, when everyone will wear shiny jumpsuits. I'm guessing in the year 2038.


2:43: Waller hits another 3. He's 3-for-4 from long range, already a better shooting night than yesterday.

2:44: Auburn is shooting 60 percent so far. Tennessee is at 57.1. This probably is not going to be a low-scoring game.

2:45: Tennessee center Brian Williams looks like an offensive lineman out there. He's 6-10, 267 pounds. Ridiculous. On a crucial note, Chism just got his second foul with 13 minutes left and had to go to the bench. J.P. Prince also has two fouls. Those are the Vols' two best players.

2:48: Tez with the turnover. He's absolutely no threat to shoot, so defenses don't have to respect that. That's got to limit his options with the ball. Auburn's up 16-15 at the 12-minute TV timeout.

2:49: Vols are shooting 66 percent (6-9). Lebo can't be happy about that.

2:52: Alley oop dunk by Tyler Smith gives Tennessee its first lead. Lucas Hargrove answers right back to tie it up again.

2:53: Nice pick and roll by Barrett and Vot, who converted a layup while getting fouled. He missed the free throw, so Auburn trails 21-20.

2:54: Notable stat: Barrett and Reed have only taken one shot apiece. Neither has scored.

2:55: Tough couple of possessions for Brendon Knox, who missed a gimme dunk and traveled. Kind of strange that Lebo is playing him and Lebo at the same time, but I guess he wants to protect the glass. That's assuming Tennessee starts missing any shots. The Vols are 9-for-15 but have 9 turnovers.

2:57: Barber and Chism both have 10 points. This is a heavyweight bout.

2:58: Strange sequence with Waller getting the steal and turning it over for a Tennessee dunk. Thought the refs could have called a foul in there somewhere. Vols have their biggest lead at 30-22 at the 8-minute TV timeout.

2:59: Luke Brietzke of Anniston Star fame informs us that the refs did miss a foul call on Waller's turnover and probably could have called a foul that led to Hargrove's travel.

3:01: Apparently, nobody wants a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Michigan State just lost to Ohio State and North Carolina lost to Florida State.

3:02: Another Chism 3 puts Tennessee up 11. He's got 13 points. Vols are 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

3:03: Vot's mini hook snaps a 3-minute scoring drought for Auburn, but Chism answers with another 3, his fourth of the game, to make it a 12-point game.

3:04: Chism, by the way, is shooting 31 percent from 3-point range this year. He's 4-for-7 today.

3:06: Tennessee simply isn't missing right now. Vols are 15-for-23 from the floor (65.2 percent). They lead 40-29 at the 4-minute TV timeout.

3:09: Smith dunk puts Tennessee up 13. That matches the largest deficit it has faced during its streak of nine wins in 10 games. The Tigers were down 13 to Bama.

3:10: Eight straight points for Speed Reed, who is heating up. He's hit two 3's.

3:11: Tough break for Hargrove, who played good D on Cameron Tatum, forcing him into a bad shot. But Tatum got the rebound and drew a foul on Hargove to get a three-point play. 47-36 Tennessee.

3:13: That's the score as we go to the half. Pearl says of Chism's 3-point shooting, sometimes you've just got to let them play. That's good justification for letting a 6-9 guy shooting 3's. Also, he's making all of them.

3:15: Brietzke reports that Vot hurt his forearm going up for a rebound on the final shot of the half, holding it in obvious pain as he left the court.

3:16: For no reason, here's another photo of Pearl, who, if you couldn't tell, I think is a pretty good coach:


3:17: Relevant halftime stats ...

• FG%: Tennessee 60% (18-30), Auburn 44.1% (15-34)
• 3-pointers: Tennessee 7-12, Auburn 5-16
• Rebounds: Tennessee 18, Auburn 12
• Assists: Tennessee 12, Auburn 7
• Free throws: Tennessee 4-5, Auburn 1-5

3:19: Your Auburn individual stats:

• Barber: 14 points, 7-8 FG, 3 rebounds
• Waller: 9 points, 3-6 3-point
• Reed: 8 points, 2-5 3-point
• Barrett: 0 points, 0-for-1
• Bench: 5 points, 2-for-7, 4 rebounds

3:20: Your Tennessee individual stats:

• Chism: 16 points, 6-10 FG, 4-7 3-point
• Scotty Hopson: 8 points, 3-5 FG
• Bobby Maze: 8 points, 3-3 FG
• Smith: 8 points, 3-5 FG
• Bench: 7 points, 9 rebounds

3:27: That break in the action was brought to you by Dove bars, the unofficial halftime sponsor of the War Eagle Extra. I think I was going through withdrawal by not being at the even, where there's normally an endless supply. ANYWAY, Auburn's got to make some big defensive adjustments in the second half. I can't imagine Tennessee's hot shooting was all a result of the Tigers' defense (I think the Vols are just in a zone), but Auburn has to start getting in their faces on some of these 3-point attempts, even if that opens up something a little closer.

3:30: Auburn's also got to get Rasheem going. It's bad enough that Tez is no threat to score the ball. To have two-thirds of the players on your court not be an offensive option is too much.

3:31: Brietzke informs us that the 47 points Tennessee scored were the most Auburn has allowed in the first half all season. The Tigers gave up 46 to Ole Miss, which, as you remember, took Auburn behind the woodshed in Oxford.

3:33: THAT would be a prime example of what Auburn cannot do. Wide open 3 by Smith. Drano. Twelve-point game again.

3:34: Barrett's on the board with a 3-pointer. Like I said, he has to get going for the Tigers to get back in this thing.

3:35: Gribbs with an injury update on Vot. He keeps holding his left forearm/elbow. Looks like that will be a nagging thing this half.

3:36: A Frankie Sullivan 3-pointer gets Auburn within seven. He's up to five points now. Another guy that it would be nice to see get going.

3:37: Two offensive rebounds this possession. Announcers and Gribbs think that ball went off Tennessee.

3:38: Barrett's heating up. (Say that in an NBA Jam voice and it's funnier.) Two straight 3's get Auburn within six. A Maze basket puts Tennessee up 55-47 with 15:49 to go, though.

3:40: I didn't think Geico could come up with a more annoying commercial than the Gecko, but the bug-eyed stack of money staring at people as a techno version of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" plays in the background has surpassed it. Good job, guys.

3:41: Barber with a layup and gets a third foul on Willliams. Auburn within six.

3:42: And he made the free throw to make it a five-point game. Auburn is 2-for-6 from the line today.

3:43: Nice hustle play by Speed Reed to save the ball from out of bounds. Leads to a foul on Tennessee when Waller was shooting a 3.

3:44: Brietzke thinks Chism is a lot like Chris Webber. The comparison will be complete if he calls too many timeouts in the final minute. Luke offers the following description: "Big man with outside shots. Headband. Aloofness." I think we can all agree C-Webb was aloof. Or at the very least temperamental.

3:46: Hargrove's up to four fouls. Bad news for Auburn.

3:49: Tennessee's already in the bonus with 12:48 to play. That's a long time to shoot free throws. Vols up 65-54.

3:50: Waller 3 and an over-the-back call on Tennessee gives Auburn a chance to whittle this lead. Announcer just said Waller's range is "unfathomable."

3:51: Seriously, announcers, it's Kor-VOT-ney. Kor-VOT-ney. Not Kor-VORT-ney. It's not like he's Auburn's best player or anything.

3:52: 65-57 Vols with 11:52 to play.

3:55: Barber layup cuts the lead to 6. He's got 23 in the game on 11-for-13 shooting. Talk about elevating your game.

3:56: Ten minutes left and both teams are in the bonus. This does not bod well for the Tigers.

3:57: Big swing right there. Sullivan misses a wide open 3 and Prince answers with a basket while getting fouled. The free throw makes it 70-61 Vols.

3:58: Nobody hustles more than Sullivan, who just dove into the base of the media table going after a loose ball. No wonder Lebo likes him so much.

3:59: Wow, extreme continuation call on a Prince basket. It looked like he took two or three steps after that foul. Lebo looks shocked. He missed the free throw, keeping the score at 74-65.

4:02: Steal by Reed, but Sullivan missed a layup on the fastbreak. Auburn needs those kind of baskets. The Tigers trail by 10.

4:04: 76-66 Vols with 6:48 left. Tennessee has "cooled off" to 58 percent shooting.

4:08: Tennessee by 12 with 5:30 left. Auburn has to make its move soon.

4:09: Lucky rebound by Chism after a teammate bricked a 3 so bad it fell right into his arms. he made 1 of 2 from the line to make it an 11-point game.

4:10: Waller with an off-balance (and therefore typical) 3 gets the Tigers within 8. He's got 17 points and has made five 3-pointers.

4:12: Just checked the rebounding margin. Tennessee's up 37-23. Ouch.

4:15: Auburn just played great defense for 35 seconds and then Reed hoisted up a step-back 3 about five seconds into the Tigers' next possession and missed. Not a great shot.

4:18: Eight-point game, 2:37 left.

4:19: Tennessee's only a 67.5 percent free throw shooting team. This could get interesting. Smith hits 1 of 2 to make it a nine-point game.

4: 20: A Chism dunk might just do it. It's an 11-point lead with 2:07 to play. Auburn has to be perfect and hope the Vols mess up from here on out.

4:21: Another Chism dunk gives him 25. Reed with a quick layup cuts the lead to 9 with 1:46 left.

4:22: Smith up to 21 points after 1 of 2 from the line. 10-point lead.

4:24: Auburn foul with 1:11 left, still down 11. The Tigers are done, barring a miracle.

4:26: This one's just about over. 92-81 Tennessee. That's the most points Auburn has allowed this year.

4:27: Aaaaaaaaaaand ... it's over. 94-85 Vols. That's all she wrote.

4:28: Tough loss for Auburn, but Tennessee was really on its game. The Vols finished the game shooting 57 percent.

4:29: Pertinent team stats ...

• FG%: Tennessee 57.6% (34-59), Auburn 45.9% (31-69)
• 3-pointers: Tennessee 9-19, Auburn 10-30
• Rebounds: Tennessee 39, Auburn 26

4:30: Pearl, who looks like he could double as a cast member of the Sopranos, stumped for Auburn, saying the selection committee needs to look long and hard at Auburn. Class move on his part.

4:33: Final Auburn individual stats ...

• Barber: 24 points, 11-14 FG, 10 rebounds
• Barrett: 18 points, 8-9 FT
• Waller: 17 points, 5-10 3-point, 6 rebounds
• Reed: 14 points, 6-15 FT, 8 assists
• Sullivan: 9 points, 4-12 FG, 1-7 3-point

4:34: Final Tennessee individual stats (talk about balance) ...

• Chism: 27 points, 10-16 FG, 4-8 3-point, 9 rebounds (game MVP in my book)
• Smith: 23 points, 8-15 FG
• Maze: 13 points
• Hopson: 10 points
• Tatum: 11 points
• Prince: 9 points

4:37: What does this mean NCAA tournament-wise for Auburn? Well, it's not good. Basically, the Tigers have to hope the selection committee looks specifically at how they played down the stretch and hope that is more impressive than what Penn State or Creighton or Saint Mary's has accomplished for a full season. They also have to hope nobody else steals a bid. That means Mississippi State, Baylor, USC, Maryland, Duquesne and San Diego State all have to lose. You can't do anything if a team wins its conference tournament. If it is still an at-large candidate, then Auburn is at least in the picture. I'm still not liking the Tigers' chances, though.