ESPN College GameDay to host show at Auburn for Tennessee showdown

ESPN College GameDay is headed on the road once again, turning their attention to the college basketball world as an incredible college football season comes to an end.

The show will be taking their crew to Auburn, where the Tigers will host the Tennessee Volunteers in what should be a monumental showdown between two of the best teams in the SEC, and the country as a whole. Check out their announcement below.

First road show of the year‼️

We’re heading to Auburn for a big-time SEC showdown between @Vol_Hoops and @AuburnMBB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xIGZfapgqG

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 17, 2025

All told, the showdown is shaping up to be the biggest of the young college basketball season thus far. Tennessee and Auburn are both 16-1, and they’ve traded turns being ranked as the top team in the country over the past few weeks.

While Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season against Florida recently, the Vols bounced back in a solid fashion, winning their past two games. Their next contest will come against Vanderbilt this weekend before returning home to face Mississippi State ahead of their trip to Auburn.

All the chips will be pushed to the center of the table for both programs when the Tigers welcome Tennessee to town, and it’s the perfect destination for ESPN to take College GameDay to start their roadtrips in 2025.

Bruce Pearl ‘can’t be anything but impressed’ in win over Mississippi State

Moreover, the Auburn Tigers know there is a target on their backs in SEC play as they sit atop the conference standings. That means playing to a high standard every night out, which head coach Bruce Pearl knows is a unique challenge.

Most recently, Auburn took down a ranked Mississippi State team at home on Tuesday night. After the game, Pearl praised his team, sharing just how impressed he is with everything from the fans to the players, to the assistant coaches.

“You can’t be anything but impressed,” Pearl said. “You just can’t. First of all, the crowd was amazing. We set a record tonight — the most students we’ve ever had in Neville Arena. Welcome back to campus, welcome back to school. We did what we could while our students were gone.

“We felt the energy in the building, our guys felt the energy in the building. Hearing Chaney [Johnson] get introduced with the starters and the way the crowd and the students received him. I thought it was awesome.”

Auburn ended up beating Mississippi State by a score of 88-66. That was with Mississippi State shooting only 34.9% from the field and turning the ball over 16 times. It was the fewest points the Bulldogs have scored since the middle of December, a month earlier. For Pearl, it was that defensive effort and game plan that helped his Auburn team thrive.

Bruce Pearl will need his Tigers to continue to play well moving forward. That continues on Saturday with a tricky road trip to Georgia.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.