The Auburn Tigers lost to the Tennessee Volunteers 92-84 in Knoxville.

Star forward Jaylin Williams' unexpectedly early return from injury raised hopes that the Tigers could pull off an upset on the road and stay in the SEC regular-season title race.

I’m back and feeling better 💪 pic.twitter.com/RKwrxeco7y

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) February 29, 2024

But it was Tennessee's Dalton Knecht who stole the show with 39 points and cemented his place as the likely unanimous SEC Player of the Year.

Some Dalton Knecht buckets tonight. pic.twitter.com/i0o0ZvYCH8

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 29, 2024

It was a competitive game all night, especially in the second half, with no team leading by double digits, and with less than 10 minutes left in the game, Auburn held an eight-point lead.

But Knecht was too much for Auburn to handle. Auburn gave up 90 points for the first time all season, and a 27-point second half was what ultimately made the difference.

Joni Bloom was sensational again for Auburn, posting 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Jaylin Williams also had a solid performance in his return, posting 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds in 21 minutes.

After the game, head coach Bruce Pearl emphasized the fact that a loss like this would hurt when the Tigers had a great chance to win all the way.

“Right now, I think the hardest thing we have to do all year is bounce back from this situation…We came here to win a championship. If you score 84 points on the road against a good defensive team like Tennessee, you should win. We just couldn't stop them defensively,” Pearl said.

Auburn is currently 10-5, two games behind Tennessee and Alabama (12-3). The Tigers will play Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in a rematch they won in Starkville a few weeks ago.

Michael Brauner is a senior sports analyst and contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP