No. 11 Vols Down No. 7 Auburn

Auburn was tired and Tennessee was energized. It didn't take long for the Volunteers to take advantage of that.

Vincent Yarbrough scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half to lead No. 11 Tennessee to a 105-76 victory Tuesday night over No. 7 Auburn.

"I thought we came out ready to play," Tennessee coach Jerry Green said.

The Volunteers (17-2), coming off a double overtime victory against No. 10 Florida a week ago, have the best record in the Southeastern Conference and their first 5-1 SEC start since 1988-89.

The Tigers, playing their fourth game in nine days, suffered their worst loss in four years.

"Our legs were gone," coach Cliff Ellis said. "After four games in nine days, three on the road, you could see we were a tired basketball team. You could see Tennessee had its legs."

Auburn (16-3, 4-2), which lost in overtime to Mississippi on Saturday, dropped back-to-back games for the first time since 1997-98, when the Tigers fell to Mississippi in the last game of the season and to Florida in the first round of the SEC tournament.

The Volunteers used a pair of 9-0 runs in the first half to take a 49-32 halftime lead.

The Vols shot 53 percent from the field, connecting on 36 of 67 attempts, while the Tigers suffered through a 23-of-69 effort.

Yarbrough hit 8 of 16 shots, including two 3-pointers, for his 24 points. He also had 10 rebounds, his 12th career double-double.

"Vincent played well and scored in a variety of ways tonight," Green said. "He hit the 3-pointer, shot inside and had a ew tip-ins. It's hard to defend him when he does that."

Isiah Victor added 19 points and Tony Harris, who left briefly with a bruised knee late in the first half, finished with 18 points.

Auburn was led by Chris Porter with 25 points and Daymeon Fishback added 15.

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