If there's a trademark of Rick Barnes Tennessee teams, it is defensive pressure. The No. 6 Volunteers rank third in college basketball in scoring defense, allowing a mere 58.6 points per game.

Handling that pressure will be vital for No. 1 Auburn in the matchup on Saturday night in Neville Arena.

"They press up," Denver Jones said. "They don't allow you to be comfortable at any point in the game. It's kind of hard to run the offense when the defense is constantly pressuring you. Then they've got Zakai (Zeigler) -- he's smaller and can get up into you a lot. I just feel like that makes your offense a lot tougher to run."

Zeigler doesn't just get it done on the defensive side. The senior leads the Volunteers in assists (7.6 per game) and, alongside Chaz Lanier, form a deadly duo at guard. But it is the former that gets Bruce Pearl's attention the most.

"Well, he's one of the leading assist guys in the country, and he's a brilliant passer," the Auburn coach said. "He's already set the all-time record for Tennessee in steals, and he's been the face of that program for a long, long time. In many ways, they go as he goes, and he always goes pretty well. He's a great 3-point shooter with a great percentage, and he's hard to stay in front of."

Don't let that fool you, though. As Pearl puts it, Lanier is one of the most impactful transfers this past offseason, much like the Volunteers had with Dalton Knecht last season. He leads the Volunteers with 18.4 points per game after spending four seasons playing at North Florida.

"He's got great size like Dalton and incredibly quick release," Pearl said. "He's made big shots, he's made contested shots and he can shoot it from three. He's got a midrange game. You're going to play for Coach Barnes, he's improved his defense. He is a definite guy that can win games for him."

Auburn and Tennessee tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT, with the game airing on ESPN.