What Jabari Smith said to Uros Plavsic to draw a technical foul

Auburn star Jabari Smith received a technical foul in the second half of Saturday’s game against Tennessee for sharing words with a player after a whistle. Smith received the technical foul after taunting forward Uros Plavsic after a foul from the Tennessee big man.

Jabari Smith called for technical

“I’m fairly certain Jabari Smith just said to Uros Plavsic player, “you’re soft as f***.” Then, Smith gets the T for jawing at Plavsic after the rebound,” explained On3 Sports’ Justin Hokanson during the game.

As the second half began at a high pace and play from both teams was sloppy, Smith exchanged words with a Tennessee player on the previous play after a turnover he committed. As the next play resulted in a rebound by Smith and a foul call, Smith got in some more verbal jabs at Plavsic as the referee immediately called a technical foul on him for taunting.

The broadcast team and many fans believed the technical was a necessary move as they had been talking to each other for minutes prior, but raised questions about why only Smith received the technical foul and not both players. The marquee top-25 SEC matchup continued to be chippy for the next few minutes as both teams kept up their quick pace, as Tennessee fought to tie the game at 39-39 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Auburn dances on Tennessee logo during pregame

It’s a tradition for Auburn players to dance at mid-court before games, but Tennessee fans didn’t seem to care on Saturday and made their thoughts known before the big SEC showdown.

The boos rained down at Thompson-Boling Arena as the Tigers performed their usual pregame routine. The stands didn’t appear to be too full, but the fans who were already there didn’t take too kindly to it.

On ESPN’s College GameDay on Feb. 12, which was hosted live from Auburn, head coach Bruce Pearl joined the panel to defend his players as they continued the tradition on their own floor.

“Look at our guys dancing,” Bruce Pearl said as the broadcast showed his players dancing at mid-court. “Oh, by the way, at Auburn, we dance. We do. I want the kids to have fun, and I want our student body to have fun.”

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.