Miles Kelly hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining and Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup as No. 1 Auburn extended its winning streak to 11 games by outlasting No. 6 Tennessee 53-51 on Saturday night.
Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) was held to its lowest point total of the season by Tennessee's physical defense. Kelly's trey off a feed from Broome turned a two-point deficit into a one-point advantage.
Tennessee had a chance to retake the lead in the final seconds, but a 3-point try by Zakai Zeigler missed the mark.
Broome, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American, was back in action for the first time since suffering what Tigers coach Bruce Pearl called a "significant sprain" to his left ankle during a win at South Carolina on Jan. 11. The forward secured crucial defensive rebounds on Tennessee's final two possessions.
"I just want to thank my trainers and my doctors and Johni Broome for living in the training room for two weeks. I didn't think he was going to come back tonight, in the middle of the week. And even here the day before, I knew he wanted to go," Pearl said after the victory. "I didn't think he was going to be effective. And he had a triple-double tonight: 16 points, 13 rebounds -- and he missed 12 shots.
"But I think the team really respected their leader for putting it on the line, and I don't know if we win if he doesn't come back."
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes didn't take any chances. He had his Volunteers prepared to see Broome, although, in the end, that didn't stop him.
"There was no doubt in our mind [Broome] was going to play," Barnes said. "We knew he was going to play. So we prepared all week for him to be there."
Zeigler had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Volunteers (17-3, 4-3). Chaz Lanier added 10 points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the second half.
Both teams shot less than 32% from the field in the defensive slugfest.
"The last thing is that we've won four games now in the last possession -- four of the last six," Pearl said. "Last year, we had 20 wins by double digits. And so, whether this team is better or not or whatever we are, this league is better. And so, it's going be a battle every night. But we are happy with this one, because that's a great team."
Auburn will play at LSU on Wednesday. Tennessee will look to bounce back when it hosts No. 9 Kentucky on Tuesday.
"I thought they fought all night long," Barnes said of his Volunteers. "And we went through just a couple minutes where we didn't quite stick to the details and gave them a few baskets that we wouldn't want to give them."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.